On Friday, August 7th, 2026, former President Donald Trump issued a new executive order aiming to restrict birthright citizenship in the United States. This order follows a June ruling by the Supreme Court that invalidated a broader Trump executive order denying citizenship to children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants or non-citizens on temporary visas.

The new order denies birthright citizenship to four specific categories of children, including those born to "alien enemies." This term refers to children 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 and Executive Order 13224 of 2001, which blocks property and prohibits transactions with persons involved in terrorism.

Additionally, the order excludes children born in U.S. territories or territorial waters where citizenship is not granted by federal statute, notably American Samoa, the only populated U.S. territory whose residents do not have citizenship conferred by Congress.

Except for children of foreign-government employees with diplomatic immunity, all children affected by this order are 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.

No part of the United States has been invaded or occupied since World War II, a fact relevant to the interpretation of "alien enemies." Legal experts consider the new executive order unconstitutional, similar to the prior one blocked by the Supreme Court, despite its narrower scope.

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