Trump signs new executive orders seeking to limit US birthright citizenship | Donald Trump News
Trump Signs Executive Orders to Limit Birthright Citizenship
President’s action follows Supreme Court ruling upholding constitutional protections
August 6, 2026
President Donald Trump has signed two executive orders aimed at restricting birthright citizenship, a move that comes weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the constitutional right to citizenship for individuals born on American soil.
The orders, signed on Thursday, represent a more limited approach compared to Trump’s previous attempts to redefine qualifications for birthright citizenship, which automatically applies to nearly all children born in the United States.
One order focuses on clarifying an existing exemption to birthright citizenship that denies citizenship to children born to foreign diplomats and members of invading forces. The second order directs the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security to take measures against “birth tourism,” a term used to describe mothers traveling to the U.S. specifically to give birth.
Like previous efforts, these new executive orders are anticipated to face significant legal challenges.
Addressing the press from the Oval Office, Trump criticized the Supreme Court for what he termed a “very unfortunate decision” in rejecting his earlier push to limit birthright citizenship. He stated, “They’ve taken birthright citizenship and they’ve made a joke out of it,” and noted that his administration is “making adjustments” to its strategy.
Earlier this year, on January 20, 2025, Trump signed an executive order seeking to reinterpret the Fourteenth Amendment. This order posited that children born to immigrants on temporary visas or without documentation are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S., thereby excluding them from automatic citizenship.
However, in June, the Supreme Court ruled against Trump’s attempts to narrow birthright citizenship, invoking the Constitution’s Citizenship Clause. The Court noted, “If Congress intended to limit American citizenship to the children of those domiciled in the United States, nothing in the succinct language of the Citizenship Clause conveyed that design,” in its majority opinion.
This ruling marked a significant legal setback for the Trump administration, particularly given the conservative majority on the Court. Six justices opposed Trump’s efforts to redefine eligibility for birthright citizenship.
The administration’s argument contended that the Fourteenth Amendment was originally intended to apply only to the children of freed slaves and that its interpretation had deviated since its adoption in 1868. Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, countered this view, stating that there was “scant evidence for this dramatically revisionist view.” He emphasized that the Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended the promise of citizenship to “every free-born person in this land.”
