On Friday, August 7th, 2026, former President Donald Trump issued a new executive order aimed at restricting birthright citizenship in the United States. This order targets four specific categories of children born in the U.S. or its territories, narrowing citizenship eligibility compared to previous policies.

The order denies birthright citizenship to 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 and Executive Order 13224. It also excludes 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 children affected by this order are currently entitled to birthright citizenship under the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which grants citizenship to all born or naturalized in the U.S. and subject to its jurisdiction. The Supreme Court reaffirmed this interpretation in June 2026 in Trump v. Barbara, striking down an earlier, broader executive order by Trump that denied citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants and those born to non-citizen parents on temporary visas.

Legal experts note that no part of the United States has been invaded or occupied since World War II, a condition sometimes cited to justify exceptions to citizenship. However, the new order's constitutionality is widely questioned given the Supreme Court's recent ruling.

This latest executive order affects a smaller group than the previous one but continues to challenge established interpretations of birthright citizenship.

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