New Executive Orders Signed
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed two executive orders aimed at narrowing access to birthright citizenship, marking a renewed effort after the Supreme Court struck down a broader administration policy earlier this year. The orders target what the administration describes as "birth tourism" and seek to deny automatic citizenship in a limited number of circumstances that officials argue fall within longstanding exceptions to the 14th Amendment. The White House said the measures expand the definition of people ineligible for birthright citizenship and ban so-called birth tourism.[S2]
At a ceremony in the Oval Office, Trump was flanked by Stephen Miller, the architect of his deportation program, as he unveiled the orders. "We had a very unfortunate decision in the Supreme Court concerning birthright, it was close," Trump said. "But a very, very unfortunate decision. So we're making adjustments." A White House staffer added during the event that there was "absolutely nothing" that would run "afoul" of the recent court ruling on the subject.[S1][S4]
Details of the Orders
One order the president signed targets commercial "birth tourism," White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said, while the other expands the definitions of people ineligible for birthright citizenship, such as children of foreign citizens who lobby on behalf of foreign governments. The order directs federal agencies not to recognize U.S. citizenship for certain people born in the United States when neither parent is a U.S. citizen and one of several conditions applies, including when a parent is designated an "alien enemy," works for a foreign government, or engages in a commercial transaction intended to obtain birthright citizenship.[S1][S2]
The order defines foreign government employees to include ambassadors, consular staff who are nationals of the sending country, people employed by foreign governments in an official capacity, and employees of international organizations who possess immunity. A separate executive order directs the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to take additional steps aimed at curbing birth tourism and targeting related businesses operating in the United States and abroad. The order authorizes federal agencies to deny visas or travel authorizations to people seeking to engage in birth tourism, revoke existing travel documents, permanently bar entry, and pursue action against individuals or organizations involved in facilitating such schemes.[S2]
Reactions and Context
Trump said "hundreds of thousands" of people are taking advantage of birth tourism. "People are building businesses around it, from—wealthy people are building businesses around birthright citizenship. That's not the way it's supposed to work. It's a disgrace," Trump said. "They're buying their way in, and we're not going to let it happen." Miller called birth tourism "one of the gravest and most egregious abuses of the American system and it keeps American citizenship sacred."[S3]
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the president's first executive order, which he issued on his first day in office in 2025, was unlawful and out of step with the 14th Amendment. The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, states "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside." Trump has long voiced his frustration with birthright citizenship, arguing that the amendment was only intended to address the aftermath of slavery. "This was done right after the Civil War," Trump said Thursday. "This was for the babies of slaves."[S1]
