Trump signs executive orders to restrict birthright citizenship following Supreme Court setback
The US President has signed two directives aimed at limiting automatic citizenship for children of non-citizens, including those linked to foreign governments or terrorist groups, in a move that critics argue conflicts with the 14th Amendment.
US President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday aimed at restricting birthright citizenship, marking a renewed effort to limit the practice following a recent Supreme Court ruling that struck down his previous attempt to abolish the right. The measures expand the definition of non-citizens whose children are ineligible for automatic citizenship and specifically target the phenomenon known as 'birth tourism'.
The first executive order prohibits automatic citizenship for babies born in the US to two non-citizen parents if one parent is a member of a foreign terrorist group, a foreign government employee, has attempted to gain citizenship through fraudulent means, or is living in US territories where citizenship is not conferred by federal statute. Officials argued the measures prevent foreign actors from exploiting US generosity, with the order stating the administration has guarded against risks posed by malign foreign actors attempting to swindle American citizens.
A second order bans 'birth tourism', defined as the practice of pregnant mothers entering the US to give birth so their babies acquire citizenship. Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff for policy, stated the president has authority to ban the practice under a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which grants the president power to set exceptions and limitations on who can enter the country. Miller argued that individuals often pretend to be tourists but are actually there to secure citizenship rights, including access to welfare benefits and voting, for their children.
The moves come weeks after the US Supreme Court ruled in June that Trump’s 2025 executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship could not stand, affirming the right as guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. Trump described the high court's decision as a "bad decision, very unfair decision" and claimed hundreds of thousands of babies have been born through birth tourism, asserting that the country suffers because of the ruling.
Legal experts have warned the new orders face significant constitutional challenges. Gabriel Chin, a professor at the University of California Davis' School of Law, noted that while the president has some power to restrict entry for the purpose of having a child, he likely lacks the power to determine citizenship once the child is born. The Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research group, estimates that the most expansive census-based figure accounts for about 22,000 to 26,000 babies born in the US from birth tourism annually, with government data showing 9,600 births to mothers with foreign addresses in 2024.
