*President Donald Trump is taking a new approach to birthright citizenship following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present are citizens at birth under the 14th Amendment.
On Aug. 6, Trump signed two executive orders addressing separate but related issues. One seeks to restrict federal recognition of citizenship in several narrower categories, while the other targets so-called “birth tourism,” involving foreign nationals who travel to the United States primarily to give birth.
The first order, “Continuing to Protect the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” directs federal agencies not to recognize citizenship in specified circumstances when neither parent is a U.S. citizen.
Those categories include certain children whose parents are classified as “alien enemies,” including members of designated foreign terrorist organizations; certain foreign government employees; and cases involving commercial transactions or fraud intended to obtain birthright citizenship.
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White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller characterized the Aug. 6 actions as among the administration’s most consequential immigration measures.
The second order, “Ending Birth Tourism,” directs the Departments of State and Homeland Security to use immigration authorities against foreign nationals seeking to enter the country primarily to give birth. Measures can include denying or revoking visas, refusing entry and pursuing removal when authorized by law.
The administration is also targeting businesses and individuals that facilitate birth tourism. It argues that the practice abuses temporary visa categories and undermines the immigration system.
The order allows exceptions on humanitarian grounds or when officials determine entry is in the national interest.
The distinction between the two orders is important. The birth-tourism order focuses primarily on visas and entry into the United States; it does not itself declare that a child born through birth tourism is not an American citizen.
Likewise, giving birth to a U.S. citizen child does not automatically give a foreign parent the legal right to remain in the United States.
Trump’s actions could face further legal scrutiny as his administration tests how far executive authority can reach following the Supreme Court’s birthright citizenship ruling.
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