On Thursday, August 7th, 2026, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders aimed at narrowly restricting birthright citizenship in the United States. These orders follow a recent Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. Barbara, which upheld birthright citizenship and struck down a broader attempt by Trump to limit it.

The first executive order identifies specific groups whose children would not be eligible for birthright citizenship. It excludes children born to parents deemed "alien enemies," "foreign government employees," or those who have "engaged in a commercial transaction" to secure citizenship for their child. 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 with international organization immunity and ambassadors, despite existing diplomatic immunity rules that already exclude such children from birthright citizenship.

The second order addresses "birth tourism," where individuals travel to the U.S. to give birth and obtain citizenship for their child. It delegates authority to the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security to halt this practice. However, the U.S. government already has visa denial powers and has prosecuted birth tourism operations, including under 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 combine unconstitutional provisions with performative elements 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.

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

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