On Thursday, August 7th, 2026, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders aimed at narrowly restricting 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," "foreign government employees," or those who have "engaged in a commercial transaction" to obtain citizenship for their child. It also excludes children born in U.S. territories or territorial waters where citizenship is not conferred by federal statute. The order additionally mentions children of persons employed by international organizations with immunity and ambassadors, though children of diplomats with full immunity already do not receive birthright citizenship.

The second order addresses "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. The U.S. government already has visa denial powers and has prosecuted birth tourism schemes, 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 are largely symbolic and ineffective, combining 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 promise reaffirmed by the Supreme Court.

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

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