On Thursday, August 7th, 2026, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders that seek to narrowly restrict birthright citizenship in the United States. These orders come shortly after the Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship in the case Trump v. Barbara, striking down a broader attempt by Trump to limit it.

The first executive order identifies specific groups whose children would not be eligible for citizenship at birth. It excludes children born to parents deemed "alien enemies," "foreign government employees," or those who have "engaged in a commercial transaction" 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 with international-organization immunity and ambassadors, although children of diplomats with full immunity are already not granted birthright citizenship due to lack of U.S. jurisdiction.

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. already has visa denial powers and prosecutes 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 are mostly symbolic and combine unconstitutional provisions with what has been described as "performance art," unlikely to have significant legal effect.

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

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