Trump signs new orders to restrict birthright citizenship in the US

US President Donald Trump has signed two new executive orders aimed at restricting birthright citizenship and curbing birth tourism, reviving one of the most contentious immigration debates in the United States despite a recent Supreme Court ruling that upheld constitutional protections for children born on American soil.

US President Donald Trump has signed two new executive orders aimed at restricting birthright citizenship and curbing birth tourism, reviving one of the most contentious immigration debates in the United States despite a recent Supreme Court ruling that upheld constitutional protections for children born on American soil.

The latest executive actions were announced at the White House, where President Trump defended his administration’s renewed effort to limit automatic US citizenship for certain children born in the country. He argued that the policy should have been implemented years ago and vowed to pursue a different legal path after the courts rejected an earlier attempt.

The move comes only weeks after the US Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s previous executive order seeking to end automatic birthright citizenship was inconsistent with the Constitution. The court reaffirmed that the 14th Amendment continues to guarantee citizenship to individuals born in the United States.

Under the first executive order, the administration seeks to expand the categories of foreign parents whose US-born children would not automatically qualify for American citizenship. According to the White House, the order targets cases involving parents linked to foreign terrorist organizations, individuals working for foreign governments, those accused of immigration fraud, or people residing in certain US territories where automatic citizenship rules differ.

The second executive order focuses on birth tourism, a practice in which pregnant women travel to the United States on tourist or visitor visas to give birth so their children can obtain US citizenship. The Trump administration argues that the practice exploits America’s immigration laws and places an unnecessary burden on public resources.

President Trump claimed that hundreds of thousands of children obtain US citizenship each year through birth tourism. However, independent estimates from the Migration Policy Institute suggest that approximately 22,000 to 26,000 births annually are linked to birth tourism. Official US government data also recorded around 9,600 births to foreign mothers in 2024.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff and Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller defended the new policy, saying some visitors misuse tourist visas with the primary intention of securing citizenship for their children. He argued that existing immigration law gives the president authority to impose entry restrictions in specific circumstances.

Legal experts, however, remain skeptical about the long-term viability of the new measures. Gabriel Chin, a law professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law, said that while the president may have authority to regulate entry into the United States, citizenship for children born on US soil is protected by the Constitution. He noted that the Supreme Court has already addressed the issue, making it likely that the latest executive orders will face fresh legal challenges.

The renewed effort is expected to trigger another high-profile court battle over immigration policy and the constitutional limits of presidential authority, ensuring that the debate over birthright citizenship remains at the center of US politics.