On Friday, August 7th, 2026, former President Donald Trump issued a new executive order aimed at restricting birthright citizenship in the United States. This order targets four specific categories of children, including those born to parents designated as "alien enemies"—defined as individuals linked to Foreign Terrorist Organizations or labeled Specially Designated Global Terrorists under U.S. law and executive orders related to terrorism.

Additionally, the order excludes children born in U.S. territories or territorial waters where citizenship is not granted by federal statute, notably American Samoa. It also excludes children of foreign-government employees with diplomatic immunity and those born to parents with international-organization immunity.

This executive order follows a June 2026 Supreme Court decision in Trump v. Barbara, which struck down an earlier, broader executive order by Trump that denied birthright citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants and non-citizens on temporary visas. The Court reaffirmed that under the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, citizenship is granted to all children "born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof," which includes children of all persons required to obey U.S. law.

Legal experts argue that, except for the diplomatic immunity exception, the children affected by this new order are constitutionally entitled to birthright citizenship. The new order is considered unconstitutional by critics, despite affecting a smaller group than the previous order.

No part of the United States has been invaded or occupied since World War II, a factor relevant to the interpretation of jurisdiction under the Citizenship Clause.

Sources

  • Ilya Somin, Reason, "Trump Issues Another Unconstitutional Executive Order Targeting Birthright Citizenship," August 7, 2026, link