On Thursday, August 7th, 2026, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders aimed at narrowly restricting birthright citizenship in the United States. These orders come just over a month after the Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship in the case Trump v. Barbara, striking down a broader attempt by Trump to limit the practice.

The first executive order specifies certain categories of parents whose children would not be eligible for citizenship at birth. These include parents deemed "alien enemies" by the government, foreign government employees, or those who have engaged in commercial transactions to obtain birthright citizenship for their child. It also excludes children born in U.S. territories or territorial waters where citizenship is not granted by federal statute. The order further mentions children of persons employed by international organizations with immunity and ambassadors, though children of diplomats with full immunity already do not receive birthright citizenship.

The second order addresses "birth tourism," where some women travel to the U.S. solely to give birth and secure citizenship for their child. It delegates authority to the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security to halt this practice. However, the U.S. government already has visa denial powers and has prosecuted birth tourism schemes, including under the Biden administration.

The White House claims these measures will "protect the meaning and value of American citizenship." However, critics argue the orders combine unconstitutional provisions with what amounts to performance art and will not have significant legal effect. The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended birthright citizenship to "every free-born person in this land," a principle reaffirmed by the Supreme Court.

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