Trump targets birthright citizenship again after c…
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has signed two executive orders seeking to restrict birthright citizenship, renewing his administration’s challenge to a constitutional provision just weeks after the Supreme Court rejected his earlier attempt.
The new orders, signed on Thursday, take a narrower approach than Trump’s previous directive and focus on specific categories of children born in the United States. The administration argues that the measures fall outside the scope of the Supreme Court’s June 30 ruling.
Birthright citizenship has been a central issue in Trump’s immigration agenda, with the White House particularly targeting what it describes as “birth tourism” — a practice in which pregnant foreign nationals travel to the US to give birth so their children can obtain American citizenship.
At the signing ceremony in the Oval Office, White House aide Stephen Miller said the administration was formally moving to end the practice, declaring that “birth tourism” was banned under the new orders.
The executive orders also seek to restrict citizenship rights for children born to certain foreign government employees and children of people classified as “alien enemies.” They could potentially have implications for people born in US territories if Congress approves proposed legislation seeking to end automatic citizenship there.
Trump’s latest move comes only weeks after the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 against his earlier attempt to restrict birthright citizenship. His first executive order, issued in 2025, instructed federal agencies not to recognise citizenship for children born in the US when neither parent was an American citizen or lawful permanent resident.
The 14th Amendment has traditionally been interpreted as guaranteeing citizenship to people born on US soil, with limited exceptions including children of foreign diplomats and members of an enemy occupying force.
Trump criticised the Supreme Court ruling, calling it a “very unfortunate decision” and arguing that businesses and individuals were exploiting the citizenship system through birth tourism.
However, legal experts and immigrant rights groups have questioned whether the new orders can withstand judicial scrutiny. The American Civil Liberties Union predicted that the administration’s latest effort would fail in court, while advocates accused Trump of attempting to bypass the Supreme Court.
Deborah Fleischaker of UnidosUS said the high court had recently reaffirmed that birthright citizenship was a constitutional guarantee and argued that presidents could not alter it through executive action.
The 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause states that all persons born or naturalised in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are US citizens.
The Supreme Court’s June ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, reaffirmed the principle that citizenship represents the right to participate fully in the country’s political community.
The latest orders are therefore expected to trigger another legal battle, potentially putting Trump’s immigration policies and the constitutional interpretation of birthright citizenship back before the courts.
