On Thursday, August 7th, 2026, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders aimed at narrowly restricting birthright citizenship in the United States. These actions follow a recent Supreme Court decision in Trump v. Barbara, which upheld birthright citizenship, striking 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 commercial transactions to secure birthright citizenship. It also excludes children born in U.S. territories where citizenship is not granted by federal statute. The order further mentions children of persons with international organization immunity and ambassadors, despite existing diplomatic immunity rules that already exclude such children from citizenship.

The second order focuses on birth tourism, delegating authority to the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security to halt the practice of traveling to the U.S. solely to give birth. While birth tourism is controversial, the U.S. government already possesses visa denial powers and has prosecuted birth tourism operations, including under the Biden administration.

The White House claims these measures will "protect the meaning and value of American citizenship." However, critics argue the orders are mostly symbolic, combining unconstitutional provisions with what has been described as "performance art," and are 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 in its recent ruling.

Sources

  • Reason, Billy Binion, "Trump's new birthright citizenship executive orders are mostly theater," August 7, 2026, link