On Thursday, August 7th, 2026, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders aimed at narrowly restricting birthright citizenship in the United States. These actions come just over a month after the Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship in the case Trump v. Barbara.

The first executive order identifies certain groups whose children would not be eligible for citizenship at birth. It excludes children born to parents deemed "alien enemies" by the government, foreign government employees, or those who have engaged in commercial transactions to obtain 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 employed by international organizations with immunity and ambassadors, although children of diplomats with full immunity already do not receive birthright citizenship as they are not subject to U.S. jurisdiction.

The second order addresses "birth tourism," where some women travel to the U.S. solely to give birth. It delegates presidential authority to the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security to halt this practice. The U.S. government already has the power to deny visas to applicants suspected of intending to give birth in the country and has prosecuted birth tourism operations, including during 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 and will have little practical effect.

The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended 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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