Washington — On Thursday, August 7th, 2026, President Trump signed two executive orders in a renewed effort to deny citizenship to certain children born in the United States. This move follows the Supreme Court's June decision to strike down his earlier executive order that sought to end birthright citizenship.

One of the new orders targets individuals involved in commercial "birth tourism," aiming to deny them entry into the country. The White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, described birth tourism as a practice where people enter the U.S. under the guise of tourism—citing visits to places like Disneyland or national parks—but with the primary intent to give birth and secure automatic citizenship for their child. Miller stated, "This has been something that people have talked about, not only for years, but for decades."

The second order broadens the categories of individuals deemed ineligible for birthright citizenship, including children of foreign citizens who lobby on behalf of foreign governments.

However, these executive orders face legal challenges. 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 Supreme Court discussions, Chief Justice John Roberts told U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer that birth tourism does not affect the legal analysis of the Citizenship Clause. Sauer noted that "such tourism is evidence of the negative effects of the prevailing interpretation of the Citizenship Clause," adding, "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."

President Trump described the Supreme Court decision as "very unfortunate" and indicated that adjustments are being made in response.

Sources