Trump signs new orders restricting US birthright citizenship
The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, granted US citizenship to everyone born or naturalised in the country, including former slaves.
- Trump signed two executive orders targeting birth tourism and birthright citizenship.
- One order focuses on people allegedly travelling to the US to give birth.
- The second order lists categories of children whose citizenship documents could be denied.
- The Fourteenth Amendment has traditionally guaranteed citizenship to nearly everyone born in the United States.
- The orders mention children of foreign officials, terrorist-group members and certain foreign nationals.
- Immigration experts say the language is vague and conflicts with the Constitution.
- The Migration Policy Institute estimates that between 22,000 and 26,000 babies linked to birth tourism may be born in the US each year.
- Government figures recorded about 9,600 births in 2024 to mothers with foreign addresses.
Trump targets birthright citizenship again
Washington: US President Donald Trump has signed two executive orders aimed at restricting birth tourism and narrowing the number of people who may qualify for birthright citizenship in the United States. The move comes only weeks after the Supreme Court rejected his earlier attempt to end the long-standing interpretation of the citizenship clause.
One order focuses on commercial “birth tourism”. It seeks to prevent people from entering the US by presenting themselves as tourists when, according to the administration, their real intention is to give birth and secure US citizenship for their child. The second order attempts to broaden the categories of children who may be denied citizenship documents.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump criticised the Supreme Court’s June 30 decision, calling it “very unfortunate”. He said the ruling had been close and claimed that his latest action was intended to make “adjustments” rather than abandon his campaign promise.
Trump was joined by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf. Miller has played a central role in shaping the administration’s hard-line immigration policies.
The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified on July 9, 1868, states that all people born or naturalised in the United States are citizens. The provision was adopted after the Civil War, particularly to guarantee citizenship to formerly enslaved people and their children.
Trump argued that the amendment was created for the children of former slaves and not for modern businesses built around birth tourism. His comments reflect the administration’s broader claim that some foreign nationals exploit the citizenship system by travelling to the US solely to have a baby.
Miller made a similar argument, saying that some visitors allegedly pretend to be tourists while planning to give birth in the country. Critics say those claims exaggerate the scale of birth tourism and overlook the constitutional protection involved.
The new order identifies several groups whose children, according to the administration, should not receive citizenship documents. These include children whose parents entered into a commercial arrangement to ensure that the mother was present in the US or a US territory for childbirth.
It also refers to children whose parents are members of terrorist organisations, employees of foreign governments or individuals acting on behalf of foreign states. Another category covers children born in certain US territories where citizenship is not automatically granted under federal law.
Immigration lawyers and civil rights organisations immediately challenged the orders. New York immigration attorney Cyrus Mehta said the language surrounding a “commercial transaction” was unclear and potentially unconstitutional. He argued that the Fourteenth Amendment does not allow citizenship to depend on such a vague condition.
The American Civil Liberties Union also warned that the Supreme Court had already reaffirmed the constitutional basis of birthright citizenship. It said any executive order attempting to undermine that principle would face legal challenges and could suffer the same fate as Trump’s previous directive.