Trump signs two executive orders targeting birthright citizenship and birth tourism after Supreme Court rebuff

New orders signed

President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday, August 6, 2026, seeking to limit birthright citizenship, just over a month after the US Supreme Court rejected his first attempt. The new orders are far narrower than the initial effort. One seeks to expand the existing exception to birthright citizenship, which currently bars US citizenship only from babies of foreign diplomats and invading forces. The second order directs the secretary of state and the secretary of homeland security to halt so-called birth tourism, the practice of mothers travelling to the US for the sole purpose of giving birth so their child obtains American citizenship.

Supreme Court rejection

On January 20, 2025, the first day of his second term, Trump signed an executive order seeking to reinterpret the Fourteenth Amendment, arguing that children born to immigrants on temporary visas or without documentation were not subject to US jurisdiction and therefore could not be automatically granted citizenship. In June 2026, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump's attempts to narrow birthright citizenship were unlawful, citing the Constitution's Citizenship Clause. Six justices voted against the administration's effort, despite a conservative supermajority on the nine-judge panel. The majority opinion stated that if Congress intended to limit American citizenship to children of those domiciled in the United States, nothing in the language of the Citizenship Clause conveyed that design.

Trump's response

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump denounced the Supreme Court for making what he called a very unfortunate decision.

They've taken birthright citizenship and they've made a joke out of it.

Trump said his administration is making adjustments to its approach and expressed confidence that the narrower orders would be found constitutional. He also called on Congress to act and fix the matter through legislation.

Expanded exclusion categories

Stephen Miller, a senior adviser and one of the principal architects of Trump's anti-immigration policy, described birth tourism as one of the most serious and flagrant abuses of US law. Miller said the government is expanding the categories of people to whom birthright citizenship does not apply, to include members of terrorist organisations and persons acting on behalf of foreign governments. The number of people potentially affected and the practical impact of the new measures, given that some restrictions already exist, remain unclear.

Scale of birth tourism

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Department of Justice would concentrate prosecutors and law enforcement partners on birth tourism, which he called a growing industry. Blanche also said the Department of Homeland Security could adjust visa processes to limit opportunities for people to come to the US not for tourism as declared, but to have a baby who would then be a US citizen. The administration has emphasised birth tourism, particularly from China, to justify its effort. However, specialists note the phenomenon remains marginal compared with more than 250,000 annual births to undocumented immigrants or temporary residents.

The Migration Policy Institute's highest census-based estimate puts birth tourism at 22,000 to 26,000 babies born annually on US soil, while government data show 9,600 births to mothers with foreign addresses in 2024. Trump told reporters that birth tourism is practiced by hundreds of thousands of people. The new executive orders are expected to face legal challenges, as did the earlier attempt.