Trump Issues New Executive Order Restricting Birthright Citizenship

On Friday, August 7th, 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 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 targets four specific categories of children, denying them birthright citizenship:

• Children of "alien enemies," defined as those with at least one non-citizen 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 (2001), which blocks property and prohibits transactions with persons supporting terrorism.
• Children born in U.S. territories or territorial waters where citizenship is not granted by federal statute, notably including 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 clause grants citizenship to all persons "born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof." The Supreme Court's majority opinion in Trump v. Barbara clarified that this includes children of all persons subject to U.S. law.

The order affects fewer groups than the previous one but remains constitutionally contentious. No part of the U.S. has been invaded or occupied since World War II, a condition sometimes cited in arguments about exceptions to birthright citizenship.

Sources

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