On Thursday, August 6, 2026, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting what he described as "birth tourism," seeking to restrict birthright citizenship by barring entry to pregnant visitors who intend to give birth in the United States. Trump criticized the current state of birthright citizenship, stating in the Oval Office, "They've taken birthright citizenship and they've made a joke out of it."

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, which Trump called "very unfortunate." He added, "We're making adjustments because it's very unfair."

Stephen Miller, a close advisor to Trump, explained that the order also aims 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."

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

The 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.

The Trump administration unsuccessfully argued that the 14th Amendment, ratified after the 1861-1865 Civil War to address citizenship rights of former slaves, does not extend to children of undocumented migrants or visitors.

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France 24 English