Supreme Court decisions on immigration, guns and weedkiller: 6 takeaways

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court handed President Donald Trump victories in two immigration cases, but one of the most highly anticipated decisions − whether the president can limit birthright citizenship − remains to be decided.

In the divide between gun rights and gun violence, the justices on June 25 struck down another state law, this one in Hawaii, aimed at curbing guns in public places, as they neared the finish line for this term.

And in a dispute between federal and state law that defied the customary ideological split between conservatives and liberals, the justices blocked thousands of lawsuits against the weedkiller Roundup.

More decisions are expected Monday, June 29. But Chief Justice John Roberts didn’t say that would be the final decision day, so there will be at least one more after that.

Here are six takeaways from the latest rulings:

Trump wins immigration cases on asylum and deportation

Trump's wins on immigration policy allow him to turn back asylum seekers at the southern border and immediately halt temporary protection from deportation for an estimated 350,000 Syrians and Haitians.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the 6-3 majority that the government may systematically turn back asylum seekers along the U.S. border with Mexico, a previous migrant management practice that the Trump administration may want to bring back.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor disagreed, arguing that “more people will die” from seeking alternative and dangerous ways of entering the country or from repression in their home countries that they are trying to escape.

Alito also wrote for the 6-3 majority in an opinion that allows the administration to immediately end a humanitarian program called Temporary Protected Status, which permits Syrians and Haitians to live and work in the United States because of dangerous conditions in their home countries.

In a dissent, Justice Elena Kagan said Trump’s comments about Haitians – such as accusing them of “eating people’s pets” – were "repellent and racially inflected."

Despite losing their protection against deportations, Syrian and Haitian immigrants may be able to remain under a different justification, such as having obtained legal permanent residence.

But no decision yet about birthright citizenship

A challenge to Trump’s proposed restrictions on birthright citizenship − from an executive order signed on the first day of his second term − remains one of the last pending cases.

Trump has argued that granting citizenship to the children of temporary visitors and undocumented immigrants will destroy the country.

The court is weighing his order restricting citizenship to the children of citizens or legal permanent residents, despite the fact that the Constitution’s 14th Amendment has been interpreted for more than 125 years to apply to nearly all children born in the country.

Court strikes down Hawaii gun restriction

The June 25 gun decision struck down a Hawaii law that required gun owners to get permission from private property owners before carrying firearms in public areas such as restaurants and parking lots.

Alito said for the 6-3 majority that the law imposed "severe restrictions" on gun owners who may be barred from entering many places people routinely visit, such as gas stations, convenience stores, restaurants, barber shops and laundromats.

But Kris Brown, president of the advocacy group Brady: United Against Gun Violence, said the “deeply dangerous majority opinion privileges guns over everything and all people in society.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, accused the court of putting “the gun lobby ahead of American lives.”

Roundup decision defies traditional ideological breakdown

The 7-2 decision that blocked thousands of lawsuits over the weedkiller Roundup defied the traditional ideological breakdown among the justices evident in the other three rulings issued on June 25.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the majority that John Durnell, who won $1.25 million from Roundup's manufacturer, Monsanto, couldn’t bring a “failure-to-warn” lawsuit under Missouri law because the federal Environmental Protection Agency hadn't required a warning. The majority included Sotomayor and Kagan, both Democratic appointees.

But Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson disagreed, citing a “near unanimous view of the many state and federal courts” about whether federal law should have prevented a state lawsuit in a case like this. She was joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Republican appointee.

Alito scores hat trick, writing 3 of 4 decisions

Alito entered the day – along with Roberts and Kavanaugh – having written only three decisions for the entire term.

But the justices traditionally spread their workload relatively evenly with about six decisions each per year. Gorsuch has already written seven.

In sports terms, Alito was due. With his hat-trick June 25, Alito has reached the average. That leaves expectations high for more decisions June 29 from Roberts and Kavanaugh.

Decisions pending about presidential appointments, election laws and transgender athletes

Despite releasing four decisions on June 25, the justices left some of the most highly anticipated cases for another day.

The four decisions left several major cases unresolved as the court heads into the final days of its term. Four pending cases could redefine presidential appointment powers and change election rules before the congressional midterms.

Another major pair of cases deals with whether West Virginia and Idaho can prohibit transgender athletes from competing on female sports teams.