On Thursday, August 7th, 2026, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders that seek to narrowly limit birthright citizenship in the United States. These actions follow a recent Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. Barbara, which upheld birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment, affirming the promise extended by its Framers to "every free-born person in this land."

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 a commercial transaction" to secure 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 an international organization that possess international-organization 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 on American soil. It delegates 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 operators of birth tourism schemes, including under the Biden administration.

Despite the White House's claim that these orders will "protect the meaning and value of American citizenship," legal analysts argue that the orders combine unconstitutional provisions with what they describe as "performance art," and thus will not have substantial legal impact.

(Photo credit: Denis Shevchuk/Elnur/Dreamstime; Illustration: Fatima Ruiz, Midjourney)

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