On Thursday, August 6th, 2026, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at curbing birthright citizenship by restricting entry for pregnant visitors who intend to give birth in the United States, a practice he described as "birth tourism."

Speaking to journalists in the Oval Office, Trump said, "They've taken birthright citizenship and they've made a joke out of it," adding, "We're making adjustments because it's very unfair."

This move follows the US Supreme Court's rejection in late June of Trump's previous attempt to limit the constitutional right to birthright citizenship. Trump acknowledged the court's ruling as "very unfortunate."

Stephen Miller, one of Trump's closest advisors, explained 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 stated the order "ensures that large numbers of people who wrongly (would) be getting birthright citizenship will no longer be eligible for those benefits."

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

The order does not apply to those 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.

The Trump administration 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.

Sources

France 24 English