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 ruling by the Supreme Court that struck down an earlier 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 new executive order denies birthright citizenship to four 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 under 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 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, which grants citizenship to all children "born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof." The Supreme Court's decision in Trump v. Barbara clarified that this jurisdiction includes children of all persons subject to U.S. law.

The order affects a smaller group compared to the previous one invalidated by the Supreme Court but remains constitutionally questionable. No part of the U.S. has been invaded or occupied since World War II, a condition sometimes cited in debates over birthright citizenship.

Sources

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