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 decision in Trump v. Barbara, which upheld birthright citizenship and struck 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, though such children traditionally do not receive birthright citizenship as their parents are not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States.

The second order focuses on "birth tourism," where individuals travel to the U.S. solely to give birth and secure citizenship for their child. This order delegates authority to the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security to halt this practice. The U.S. government already has visa denial powers and has prosecuted birth tourism operations, including under the Biden administration.

Despite the White House's claim that these measures will "protect the meaning and value of American citizenship," critics argue the orders are largely symbolic and combine unconstitutional provisions with what has been described as "performance art." The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended birthright citizenship to "every free-born person in this land," a principle reaffirmed by the Supreme Court.

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

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