On Thursday, August 7th, 2026, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders that seek 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 curtail it.

The first executive order identifies specific groups whose children would not be eligible for citizenship at birth. These include 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, as well as children of persons employed by international organizations with immunity and ambassadors. However, critics note that children of diplomats already do not receive birthright citizenship because their parents are not subject to U.S. jurisdiction.

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 operators, including under the Biden administration.

Despite the White House's claim that these measures will "protect the meaning and value of American citizenship," analysts argue that 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 ruling.

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