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Two Orders After June Ruling
U.S. President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday to restrict birthright citizenship and to ban so-called “birth tourism,” after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his earlier, broader attempt to deny automatic citizenship to children born to undocumented immigrants and temporary foreign residents.
“Trump on Thursday signed two executive orders that seek to broaden the categories of children ineligible for automatic US citizenship”
The Guardian said Trump’s orders seek to broaden the categories of children ineligible for automatic U.S. citizenship and to ban “birth tourism,” with Trump telling reporters, “So we’re making adjustments because it’s very unfair.”
Reuters reported that the orders were a “new but narrower attempt” to curtail birthright citizenship, once again challenging a constitutional provision even though the Supreme Court rejected the prior effort.
Reuters also said White House aide Stephen Miller stated at the Thursday signing ceremony in the Oval Office, “That practice of birth tourism is, as of the signing of this order, hereby banned.”
Voices Clash Over Constitutionality
Trump framed the Supreme Court’s June decision as “a very unfortunate decision,” telling reporters, “So we’re making adjustments because it’s very unfair,” while Reuters described the administration’s position that the new directive falls outside the Supreme Court ruling by reinterpreting historical exceptions.
The Guardian quoted Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff and chief architect of Trump’s anti-immigration agenda, saying the order aims to expand the categories to include children of members of “foreign terrorist organizations” and “large categories of people who lobby and act on behalf of foreign governments.”
The ACLU predicted the orders would be rejected in court, with Cody Wofsy saying, “The supreme court already decided this issue: birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the constitution. No additional executive order can change the meaning of the constitution.”
Reuters added that legal experts said it was unclear what effect the executive orders might have given the Supreme Court ruling, while immigrant advocates called the move an attempt to evade the high court’s decision.
Legal Challenge and Practical Impact
Reuters said Trump’s executive orders are likely to face legal challenge, and it described how the administration argued the directives would reinterpret narrow, historical exceptions to citizenship at birth and expand who is ineligible.
“puts birth tourism at 22,000 to 26,000 babies born annually on US soil”
The Guardian reported that the second order directs federal agencies to target “birth tourism operators” and noted that the Migration Policy Institute estimated “puts birth tourism at 22,000 to 26,000 babies born annually on US soil,” while also citing government data showing “just 9,600 births to mothers with foreign addresses in 2024.”
Reuters said the orders could affect people born in U.S. territories if Congress enacts a proposed law to end automatic citizenship there, and it also said the executive orders limit the rights of children born to foreign government employees and children of people classified as alien enemies.
In its account of the June 30 Supreme Court ruling, Reuters quoted Chief Justice John Roberts writing that “Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights - to freely participate in our political community,” and it said the court held that the 14th Amendment extended that promise to every free-born person in the land.
