Trump signs executive orders targeting birthright citizenship after Supreme Court setback

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed two executive orders aimed at curtailing birthright citizenship in the United States, a move that comes weeks after the Supreme Court struck down his earlier, more sweeping attempt to end the practice. The orders, signed during an Oval Office ceremony, target specific categories of non-citizens and seek to ban so-called "birth tourism," according to multiple reports.

Birthright citizenship, enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, grants automatic citizenship to nearly everyone born on US soil. Trump has long sought to dismantle this right, describing it as "expensive and unfair" and making it a centerpiece of his second-term immigration crackdown, as reported by ABC Australia and Dawn.

The first executive order expands the existing definitions of non-citizens whose children are not eligible for birthright citizenship, according to the BBC. It prevents automatic citizenship for babies born in the US to two non-citizen parents when 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 granted by federal law. Some of these categories were already excluded under current rules, but the foreign terrorist group provision could raise practical issues, according to Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, an associate policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, as quoted by the BBC.

The second order directs the departments of state and homeland security to enhance regulations and expand enforcement against "birth tourism," a phrase Trump used to describe pregnant foreigners traveling to the US to give birth so their children will be citizens. According to the executive order, operators in the birth tourism industry use deceptive advertising to entice foreign nationals, promising citizenship, access to public benefits, and short-term stays in specialized facilities, but often failing to deliver on those promises, the BBC reported.

At the signing ceremony, White House aide Stephen Miller said the first order also seeks to deny birthright citizenship to children of members of "foreign terrorist organizations" as well as "large categories of people who lobby and act on behalf of foreign governments," as reported by Deutsche Welle and France 24. Miller added that the order "ensures that large numbers of people who wrongly (would) be getting birthright citizenship will no longer be eligible for those benefits."

Trump, speaking from the Oval Office, criticized the Supreme Court's ruling, describing it as "very unfortunate," as reported by Deutsche Welle and France 24. "It was close, but a very, very unfortunate decision," Trump told reporters, adding that his administration was "making adjustments because it's very unfair," according to The Guardian.

Coverage Comparison

The new orders are narrower than Trump's previous attempt, which sought to reinterpret the 14th Amendment to exclude children born to immigrants in the country illegally or on temporary visas. That earlier effort, signed on January 20, 2025, was blocked by lower courts and later rejected by the Supreme Court in a late June ruling, according to Al Jazeera and France 24.

The administration argues that the new directives fall outside the scope of the Supreme Court ruling because they reinterpret narrow, historical exceptions to citizenship at birth, as reported by ABC Australia and Al Jazeera. However, legal experts and commentators quoted by The Guardian say the orders are expected to face legal challenges, and it remains unclear what effect they will have given the Supreme Court's stance.

The orders also limit the rights of children born to foreign government employees, children of "alien enemies," and, potentially, people born in US territories if Congress enacts a proposed law to end automatic citizenship there, as reported by Dawn.

Key Claims

  • The orders expand definitions of non-citizens whose children are not eligible for birthright citizenship, including children born to parents who are members of foreign terrorist groups, foreign government employees, or those who have attempted to gain citizenship fraudulently, as reported by the BBC.
  • The second order seeks to end "birth tourism" by directing the secretaries of state and homeland security to enhance regulations and expand enforcement, according to Al Jazeera and the BBC.
  • Trump stated that hundreds of thousands of babies have been born through birth tourism in the US, as reported by BBC — World. This figure is significantly higher than estimates from the Migration Policy Institute, which cites the most expansive census-based estimate at about 22,000 to 26,000 babies annually, as reported by BBC — World. The Centre for Immigration Studies estimated between 20,000 and 25,000 mothers came to the US for birth tourism in a year-long period between 2016 and 2017, according to Dawn.
  • The Supreme Court previously upheld a broad conception of birthright citizenship, rejecting Trump's earlier attempt to restrict it, as reported by The Hindu and others.