Trump doubles down on fight against birthright citizenship with new executive orders

President Donald Trump signed additional executive orders on Thursday to further restrict birthright citizenship in the United States, despite a previous Supreme Court ruling blocking his earlier attempt. The new orders aim to curb "birth tourism," a practice where individuals from other nations travel to the US while pregnant, giving birth domestically and thereby conferring automatic US citizenship to the child.

The White House claims these orders are a necessary measure to address the issue of birth tourism, without explicitly conceding that they might conflict with the Supreme Court's previous decision. The administration argues that their latest directive interprets the narrow and historical exceptions to citizenship at birth, while expanding the group of individuals ineligible for such citizenship.

According to a report by the US Center for Immigration Studies, approximately 20,000 to 25,000 mothers entered the US for birth tourism between 2016 and 2017. In 2025, around 3.6 million babies were born in the US. The executive orders also address the rights of children born to foreign government employees and individuals from countries considered enemies of the US.

These orders could also impact those born in US territories if Congress enacts a proposed law to abolish automatic citizenship in those areas. Legal experts quoted by Reuters suggest that the impact of these orders remains uncertain, given the Supreme Court's prior ruling. Immigration lawyers are skeptical, viewing the move as an attempt to circumvent the court's decision.

Deborah Fleischaker, a former Biden administration official now with UnidosUS, a Hispanic civil rights and advocacy group, stated that the executive orders are simply an attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court's ruling.