Washington — On Thursday, August 7th, 2026, President Trump signed two executive orders in a renewed effort to restrict birthright citizenship for certain children born in the United States. This move follows the Supreme Court's June decision that struck down his earlier executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship.
One of the new orders targets individuals who engage in commercial "birth tourism," seeking to deny them entry into the country. The order defines birth tourism as people who come to the U.S. under the pretense of tourism—such as visiting Disneyland or national parks—but whose actual intent is to give birth so their child automatically gains U.S. citizenship. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller stated, "This has been something that people have talked about, not only for years, but for decades."
The second order expands the categories of people deemed ineligible for birthright citizenship, including children of foreign citizens who lobby on behalf of foreign governments.
President Trump described the Supreme Court ruling as "a very unfortunate decision" and indicated adjustments would be made in response.
However, civil rights advocates remain critical. Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, warned, "Any executive order that tries to rewrite birthright citizenship will meet the same fate as the last one."
During related legal discussions, Chief Justice John Roberts told U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer that birth tourism "has no impact on the legal analysis before us." Sauer countered that such tourism highlights negative effects of the current interpretation of the Citizenship Clause, noting, "We're in a new world now … where 8 billion people are one plane ride away from having a child who is a U.S. citizen."
These developments underscore ongoing debates over the scope of birthright citizenship in the United States.
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