President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday, August 7th, 2026, that attempt 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.

The first executive order specifies certain 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 a commercial transaction" to obtain birthright citizenship. It also excludes children born in U.S. territories or territorial waters where citizenship is not granted by federal statute. The order further mentions children of persons employed by international organizations with immunity and ambassadors, although children of diplomats with full immunity already do not receive birthright citizenship as they are not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States.

The second order focuses on "birth tourism," where some women travel to the U.S. solely to give birth on American soil. This order delegates presidential 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 birth tourism schemes, including during President Joe Biden's 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 symbolic and combine unconstitutional provisions with what has been described as performance art. 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 credits: Denis Shevchuk/Elnur/Dreamstime; Illustration by Fatima Ruiz, Midjourney)

Sources