Trump Issues New Executive Order Narrowing Birthright Citizenship

Former President Donald Trump has issued a new executive order aiming to restrict birthright citizenship in the United States. This order follows the Supreme Court's June ruling against his previous, broader executive order that denied citizenship to children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants and non-citizen parents on temporary visas.

The new order denies birthright citizenship to four categories of children:

• Those born to "alien enemies," defined as children with at least one parent designated as part of a Foreign Terrorist Organization under 8 U.S.C. 1189 or as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and Executive Order 13224 (2001), which blocks property and prohibits transactions with persons involved in terrorism.
• Children born in U.S. territories or territorial waters where citizenship is not granted by federal statute, notably American Samoa.

Except for children of foreign-government employees with diplomatic immunity, all children in these categories are entitled to birthright citizenship under the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Supreme Court in Trump v. Barbara clarified that citizenship applies to all children "born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof," including those whose parents must obey U.S. law.

No part of the United States has been invaded or occupied since World War II, a point relevant to the interpretation of "alien enemies." The groups affected by this new order are smaller than those targeted by the previous one, but the order is still considered unconstitutional.

Sources

• Reason: Trump Issues Another Unconstitutional Executive Order Targeting Birthright Citizenship