On Thursday, August 7th, 2026, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders intended to narrowly restrict birthright citizenship in the United States. These orders follow a recent Supreme Court decision 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 be ineligible for citizenship at birth, including those whose parents are deemed "alien enemies," foreign government employees, or who have engaged in commercial transactions to secure citizenship for their child. It also excludes children born in U.S. territories where citizenship is not granted by federal statute, as well as children of persons with international organization immunity and ambassadors—groups already generally excluded due to diplomatic immunity.

The second order focuses on "birth tourism," directing the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security to halt the practice where individuals travel to the U.S. solely to give birth. The White House claims these measures will "protect the meaning and value of American citizenship."

However, critics argue these orders are largely symbolic and unlikely to have significant legal effect, describing them as combining unconstitutional provisions with "performance art." The U.S. government already possesses authority to deny visas to those suspected of intending birth tourism and has prosecuted such schemes, including under the Biden administration.

The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended birthright citizenship to "every free-born person in this land," a principle upheld by the Supreme Court, which poses a significant legal barrier to the new executive orders.

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

Sources