On Thursday, August 7th, 2026, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders aimed at narrowly restricting birthright citizenship in the United States. These actions follow a Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. Barbara, which upheld birthright citizenship, striking down an earlier, 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 secure birthright citizenship. 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, despite existing diplomatic immunity rules already excluding such children from birthright citizenship.

The second order addresses "birth tourism," where some women travel to the U.S. solely to give birth. It delegates authority to the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security to halt this practice. However, the U.S. government already possesses the power to deny visas to applicants suspected of intending to give birth in the country and has prosecuted birth tourism operations, including under President Joe Biden's 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 symbolic gestures 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's recent decision.

(Photo credits: Denis Shevchuk/Elnur/Dreamstime; Illustration: Fatima Ruiz, Midjourney)

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