Trump Issues New Executive Order Restricting Birthright Citizenship

On August 7, 2026, former President Donald Trump issued a new executive order aimed at narrowing birthright citizenship in the United States. This order follows a June Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. Barbara that invalidated an earlier, broader executive order denying 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 specific categories of children:

• Children of "alien enemies," defined as those with at least one parent designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under 8 U.S.C. 1189 or as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, consistent with the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and Executive Order 13224 (September 23, 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 conferred by federal statute, which primarily applies to American Samoa.

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

The order affects a smaller group than the previous one but remains constitutionally questionable according to legal experts. 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