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 identifies specific 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 where citizenship is not granted by federal statute, as well as children of persons employed by international organizations with immunity and ambassadors. Notably, children of diplomats with full diplomatic immunity already do not receive birthright citizenship because 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 on American soil. This order delegates authority to the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security to halt this practice. However, the U.S. government already has the power to deny visas to applicants suspected of intending to give birth in the U.S. for citizenship purposes and has prosecuted birth tourism schemes, 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 impact.

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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