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 temporary visa holders.

The latest order denies birthright citizenship to four specific categories of children:

• Children of "alien enemies," defined as those with at least one non-citizen parent designated as part of 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, notably American Samoa.

With the exception of children of foreign-government employees with diplomatic immunity, all these children are currently 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," which includes children of all persons required to obey U.S. law.

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

Sources

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