On Thursday, August 7th, 2026, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders intended to narrowly limit birthright citizenship in the United States. These actions follow a recent Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. Barbara that upheld birthright citizenship, striking down a broader attempt by Trump to suppress it.

The first executive order outlines specific categories of parents whose children would not be eligible for citizenship at birth. These include parents deemed "alien enemies" by the government, foreign government employees, or those who have engaged in commercial transactions to obtain 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 employed by international organizations with immunity and ambassadors, though children of diplomats with full immunity already do not receive birthright citizenship as they are not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States.

The second order focuses on "birth tourism," where individuals travel to the U.S. to give birth and secure citizenship for their child. It delegates presidential 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 under the Biden administration.

The White House asserts that these measures will "protect the meaning and value of American citizenship." Nonetheless, critics argue the orders combine unconstitutional provisions with symbolic gestures unlikely to effect significant legal change. 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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