Trump Signs New Executive Orders in Fresh Attempt to Limit US Birthright Citizenship
US President Donald Trump has signed two new executive orders to restrict birthright citizenship and curb birth tourism, just weeks after the Supreme Court struck down his previous policy.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday targeting US birthright citizenship.
- The first order expands restrictions denying citizenship to babies born to certain foreign parents.
- The second order officially bans the practice of birth tourism in the United States.
- The move follows the Supreme Court's June ruling striking down Trump's 2025 policy.
Donald Trump is making another push to scale back birthright citizenship in the United States, following a recent legal setback at the Supreme Court in June that dismantled his previous administration policies. On Thursday, the president signed a pair of executive orders aimed at narrowing down the criteria for automatic citizenship granted by birth on American soil.
The first executive order broadens the existing definitions of non-citizens whose newborn children are deemed ineligible for automatic citizenship. According to the document, the administration is taking steps against malign foreign actors exploiting national generosity. Consequently, babies born in the US to two non-citizen parents will be denied automatic citizenship if either parent falls into the following categories:
- A member of a foreign terrorist group
- A foreign government employee
- An individual who attempted to gain citizenship through fraudulent means
- A resident living in US territories where federal statute does not confer citizenship
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
The second executive order directly targets birth tourism, a practice where pregnant mothers travel to the US specifically to give birth so their children acquire American citizenship. While speaking from the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump asserted that hundreds of thousands of babies have been delivered in the US through this method.
"The idea (is) that people come here pretending to be a tourist, pretending to be a visitor,"
Stephen Miller
However, those figures contrast sharply with data provided by the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization. The institute notes that census-based estimates cap birth tourism at approximately 22,000 to 26,000 births annually, while government data points to 9,600 births originating from mothers with foreign addresses in 2024.
Birthright citizenship in the United States is anchored in the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, guaranteeing citizenship to virtually all individuals born on American soil. Executive attempts to alter or restrict this constitutional guarantee via presidential orders or statutory interpretation routinely trigger intense legal battles. Because the Supreme Court previously ruled that Trump's 2025 restrictions could not stand, these new executive orders are expected to face rigorous constitutional scrutiny.
Standing alongside the president on Thursday, Stephen Miller, homeland security advisor and White House deputy chief of staff for policy, argued that the president holds statutory authority under a specific section of the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish exceptions and limitations on entry into the country.
Source: BBC World
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