On Thursday, August 7th, 2026, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders aimed at narrowly restricting 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, striking down a broader attempt by Trump to limit the policy.

The first order identifies 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 secure birthright citizenship. It also excludes children born in U.S. territories or territorial waters where citizenship is not granted by federal statute. Additionally, it 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 focuses on "birth tourism," where some women travel to the U.S. solely to give birth. It delegates authority to the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security to halt this practice. However, the U.S. government already possesses visa denial powers and has prosecuted 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, combining unconstitutional provisions with what has been described as "performance art," and will not significantly alter current birthright citizenship practices.

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

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

Sources