President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday, August 7th, 2026, aiming to narrowly restrict 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 outlines 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 or territorial waters where citizenship is not granted by federal statute. Additionally, the order mentions children of persons employed by international organizations with immunity and ambassadors, despite such children traditionally not receiving birthright citizenship due to diplomatic immunity.

The second order addresses "birth tourism," where individuals travel to the U.S. solely to give birth. It delegates presidential authority to the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security to halt this practice. The U.S. government already holds the power to deny visas to those suspected of intending birth tourism and has prosecuted operators of 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 are largely symbolic and combine unconstitutional provisions with performance art, limiting their practical effect.

The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended birthright citizenship to "every free-born person in this land," a principle reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in recent rulings.

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

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