On Thursday, August 7th, 2026, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders intended to narrowly restrict 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, striking down a broader attempt by Trump to suppress 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" by the government, 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, as well as children of persons employed by international organizations with immunity and ambassadors. However, the inclusion of diplomatic categories is seen as redundant since children of diplomats with full immunity already do not receive birthright citizenship due to lack of jurisdiction.

The second order focuses on "birth tourism," where individuals travel to the U.S. 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 possesses visa denial powers and has prosecuted birth tourism operations, including under the Biden administration.

Despite the White House's claim that these measures will "protect the meaning and value of American citizenship," critics argue the orders are largely performative and combine unconstitutional provisions. 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 credit: Denis Shevchuk/Elnur/Dreamstime; Illustration: Fatima Ruiz, Midjourney)

Sources

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