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 decision in June to strike down his earlier executive order targeting birthright citizenship.

One of the new orders specifically targets individuals involved 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 monuments—but whose actual intent is to give birth to a child who 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 broadens the categories of individuals deemed ineligible for birthright citizenship, including children of foreign citizens who lobby on behalf of foreign governments. It lists several categories of people who should not be granted citizenship documents, including those born to mothers present in the U.S. through commercial transactions arranged for birth purposes.

President Trump described the Supreme Court's ruling as "a very unfortunate decision" and said, "So we're making adjustments."

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) responded critically. Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, said in a statement, "Any executive order that tries to rewrite birthright citizenship will meet the same fate as the last one."

During Supreme Court proceedings, Chief Justice John Roberts told U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer, "You do agree that that has no impact on the legal analysis before us." Sauer noted that birth tourism highlights negative effects of the current 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."

The debate continues over the implications of birthright citizenship and the legal boundaries of executive action on this constitutional issue.

Sources