On Thursday, August 6th, 2026, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at curbing birthright citizenship by targeting "birth tourism"—the practice of entering the United States under the guise of tourism with the intention of giving birth on US soil. Trump told journalists in the Oval Office, "They've taken birthright citizenship and they've made a joke out of it." He added, "We're making adjustments because it's very unfair."

This move follows the US Supreme Court's rejection in late June of Trump's earlier effort to restrict the constitutionally guaranteed right to birthright citizenship. The Trump administration had unsuccessfully argued that the 14th Amendment, ratified after the 1861-1865 Civil War, was intended to address citizenship rights of former slaves and not the children of undocumented migrants or visitors.

Stephen Miller, one of Trump's closest advisors, stated that the order also seeks to deny birthright citizenship to children of members of "foreign terrorist organizations" and "large categories of people who lobby and act on behalf of foreign governments." Miller said the order "ensures that large numbers of people who wrongly (would) be getting birthright citizenship will no longer be eligible for those benefits."

The executive order does not apply to individuals not subject to US jurisdiction, such as children of foreign diplomats. Under existing US law, visas can already be denied if a consular officer believes the applicant is traveling primarily to give birth in the country.

Last year, Trump signed another executive order declaring that children born to parents in the United States illegally or on temporary visas would not automatically become US citizens.

The 14th Amendment states, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."

Sources