Trump signs new executive orders seeking to restrict US birthright citizenship
US President Donald Trump has signed two new executive orders aimed at restricting birthright citizenship, five weeks after a 6-3 Supreme Court decision rejected his administration’s broader attempt to end automatic citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants.
The newly issued directives attempt a narrower approach by targeting specific exceptions under the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment.
The primary focus of the orders is a total ban on birth tourism, a practice where pregnant foreign nationals travel to the US to give birth so their children acquire automatic citizenship.
The directives also place restrictions on children born in the US to foreign government employees, foreign combatants classified as alien enemies, and residents of US territories pending potential congressional legislation.
Speaking alongside White House aides Stephen Miller and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during an Oval Office ceremony, Trump criticised the high court’s prior 30 June ruling and argued that non-citizens were taking advantage of constitutional protections established following the Civil War.
Legal experts and civil rights advocacy organisations, including the American Civil Liberties Union and UnidosUS, noted that the executive actions do not carry the authority of statutory law and will face immediate challenges in federal court for attempting to bypass constitutional precedent and Supreme Court authority.
