Trump signs orders restricting citizenship at birth

US President Donald Trump has signed two executive orders in a new but narrower attempt to limit birthright citizenship, renewing his challenge to provisions of the US Constitution after the Supreme Court rejected his previous attempt.

Restricting citizenship by birth has been a top priority in the Republican president's crackdown on immigration, and the White House has particularly targeted what it calls "birth tourism," in which pregnant foreign women travel to the U.S. to give birth.

After a June 30 Supreme Court defeat, Trump called on Congress to act, but yesterday opted for executive orders that set policy but are not legally binding. The court said Trump's earlier attempt to limit birthright citizenship was unconstitutional.

The administration argues that the new directive falls outside the bounds of the Supreme Court's ruling, which allows it to expand who would be considered ineligible for citizenship by birth to include those who would come for the purpose of "birth tourism." Those categories, Trump's order states, "do not fall under the birthright citizenship rule as declared by the Supreme Court," Hina reports.

"This practice of birth tourism is hereby prohibited, effective upon the signing of this order. This means that no one in the world may ever again obtain a visa for this fraudulent purpose," White House aide Stephen Miller said at a signing ceremony in the Oval Office on Thursday.

The Center for Immigration Studies, which supports lower immigration levels, estimated in a 2020 analysis that between 20.000 and 25.000 mothers came to the U.S. for birth tourism in the one-year period between 2016 and 2017.

In the United States in 2025, there were 3,6 million births.

The executive orders also limit the rights of children born to foreign government officials in the U.S. and children of persons classified as enemy aliens.

The regulations could also affect people born in U.S. territories, if Congress passes proposed legislation to end automatic citizenship there.

Trump's new regulations will likely be challenged in court.

The provision of the 14th Amendment known as the Citizenship Clause 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.

No U.S. law directly prohibits birth tourism, but a federal rule implemented in 2020 during Trump's first term prohibits the use of temporary tourist and business visas for the primary purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship for a newborn. People involved in birth tourism programs could be prosecuted for fraud or other related crimes.