On Thursday, August 6th, 2026, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting "birth tourism," an effort to curb birthright citizenship by restricting entry for pregnant visitors intending to give birth in the United States.

Trump criticized the current state of birthright citizenship, saying 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 previous attempt to limit the constitutional right to birthright citizenship, which Trump described as "very unfortunate."

Stephen Miller, a close advisor to Trump, 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 decreeing that children born to parents in the United States 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 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.

Key quote from the 14th Amendment: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."

Sources