Trump again tries to limit US birthright citizenship with new executive orders

President Donald Trump has once again attempted to alter birthright citizenship in the United States, following the Supreme Court's rejection of his previous efforts to abolish the policy. On Thursday, he signed two executive orders aimed at addressing the issue. The first order broadens the definition of individuals ineligible for automatic citizenship if born in the US to non-citizen parents.

The second order prohibits what Trump calls "birth tourism," a practice where pregnant women travel to the US solely to give birth and secure citizenship for their child. Trump believes this practice, often exploited by adversaries like Russia and China, allows foreign individuals to exploit the US's generosity to gain citizenship for their offspring.

He claims that hundreds of thousands of babies born in the US each year are the result of birth tourism, citing estimates from the Migration Policy Institute of 22,000 to 26,000 annually. Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller, who accompanied Trump during the executive order announcement, alleged that birth tourism enables foreign nationals to gain access to US welfare systems, the voting process, and other American rights and privileges.

The first executive order, signed shortly after taking office in 2025, attempted to end birthright citizenship as outlined in the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution but was blocked by the Supreme Court. Trump criticized the court's decision as unfair, stating that the administration will take action differently. Legal experts, including UC Davis law professor Gabriel Chin, argue that while the president can restrict individuals specifically entering the country to have children, once a child is born in the US, the president cannot determine if that child is a citizen.

Chin stated that birth tourism is an atypical phenomenon compared to the millions of births occurring in the US annually.