Trump Issues New Executive Order Restricting Birthright Citizenship

Former President Donald Trump has issued a new executive order aimed at narrowing birthright citizenship in the United States. This order follows a June Supreme Court decision in Trump v. Barbara that struck down 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 specifically denies birthright citizenship to four 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 a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, consistent with the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001, which blocks property and prohibits transactions with persons who commit or support terrorism.
• Children born in U.S. territories or territorial waters where citizenship is not conferred by federal statute, which appears to apply primarily to American Samoa.

With the exception of children of foreign-government employees who have diplomatic immunity, all these children are entitled to birthright citizenship under the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which grants citizenship to all born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction. The Supreme Court in Trump v. Barbara clarified that this jurisdiction includes children of all persons required to obey U.S. law.

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

This latest executive order affects a smaller group than the previous one but is also considered unconstitutional under current legal interpretations.

Sources

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