On Thursday, August 7th, 2026, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders that seek to narrowly restrict 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 suppress it.

The first executive order identifies specific 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 where citizenship is not conferred by federal statute, as well as children of persons employed by international organizations with immunity and ambassadors. However, this inclusion is considered unusual since children of diplomats with full immunity already do not receive birthright citizenship due to lack of jurisdiction.

The second order addresses "birth tourism," where some women travel to the U.S. solely to give birth and secure citizenship for their child. This order delegates authority to the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security to halt birth tourism practices. The U.S. government already has visa denial powers and has prosecuted birth tourism operations, including under 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 citizenship to "every free-born person in this land," a principle reaffirmed by the Supreme Court.

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