Trump Issues New Executive Order Restricting Birthright Citizenship

On Friday, August 7th, 2026, former President Donald Trump issued a new executive order aiming to limit birthright citizenship in the United States. This order follows a June ruling by the Supreme Court that invalidated an earlier, broader executive order by Trump which sought to deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants and those on temporary visas.

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 granted by federal statute, notably American Samoa.

Except for 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, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Trump v. Barbara. The clause grants citizenship to all children "born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof," which the Court clarified 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 factor relevant to the interpretation of jurisdiction under the Citizenship Clause.

This new executive order affects a smaller group than the previous one but is similarly considered unconstitutional.

Sources

• Ilya Somin, Reason, "Trump Issues Another Unconstitutional Executive Order Targeting Birthright Citizenship," August 7, 2026. Read more