On Thursday, August 7th, 2026, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders intended to narrowly restrict birthright citizenship in the United States. These orders follow a recent Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. Barbara, which upheld birthright citizenship and struck down a broader attempt by Trump to suppress it.

The first executive order identifies specific groups whose children would be ineligible for citizenship at birth, including those whose parents have been designated as "alien enemies," are foreign government employees, or have engaged in commercial transactions to obtain 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, despite such children traditionally not receiving birthright citizenship due to their parents' diplomatic immunity.

The second order focuses on "birth tourism," directing the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security to halt the practice where some women travel to the U.S. solely to give birth. The White House claims these measures will "protect the meaning and value of American citizenship."

However, critics argue these orders are largely performative and will have little practical effect, combining unconstitutional provisions with symbolic gestures. The U.S. government already possesses authority to deny visas to those suspected of intending birth tourism and has prosecuted operators of birth tourism schemes, including during the Biden administration.

The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended birthright citizenship to "every free-born person in this land," a principle reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in recent rulings.

Sources

  • Reason, Billy Binion, "Trump's new birthright citizenship executive orders are mostly theater," August 7, 2026, link