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.

The first executive order specifies certain 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 commercial transactions to obtain birthright citizenship. It also excludes children born in U.S. territories where citizenship is not granted by federal statute, as well as children of persons employed by international organizations with immunity and ambassadors. However, critics note that children of diplomats with full immunity already do not receive birthright citizenship because they are not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States.

The second order addresses "birth tourism," where some women travel to the U.S. solely to give birth. 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 schemes, including under President Joe Biden's administration.

The White House claims these measures will "protect the meaning and value of American citizenship." However, Reason magazine characterizes the orders as largely symbolic, stating they "will not do much at all, because they combine unconstitutional provisions with 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 credits: Denis Shevchuk/Elnur/Dreamstime; Illustration: Fatima Ruiz, Midjourney)

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