Trump renews push to limit birthright citizenship despite Supreme Court ruling
Pres. Trump signs exec. orders on birthright citizenship
Thursday, Pres. Trump signed two executive orders on birthright citizenship, following the Supreme Court's upholding of birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara.
President Donald Trump is once again trying to limit birthright citizenship, despite his first attempt being rejected by the Supreme Court.
On Thursday, Trump signed two executive orders that aim to limit the number of people born in the U.S. who can become American citizens.
New executive orders on birthright citizenship
What we know:
The first executive order limits the number of people eligible for U.S. citizenship after being born in the United States, while the second is focused on what Trump calls "birth tourism," or stopping people from coming to the U.S. to give birth.
RELATED: Birthright citizenship: Supreme Court rejects Trump crackdown
The first order restricts automatic citizenship to specific categories of people, including children born to adults with connections to foreign embassies or organizations, along with anyone considered an "alien enemy" of the United States.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller (L) holds an executive order on birthright citizenship as US President Donald Trump speaks before signing it in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 6, 2026. (Photo by Jim WA
It also aims to restrict birthright citizenship to anyone whose parents "engaged in fraudulent activity to obtain citizenship."
The second order adds more restrictions on visitors to the U.S. who want to obtain visas to give birth while in the country.
What they're saying:
"I thought we were going to win it at the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, we had a bad decision, very unfair decision. Our country suffers because of it and we’re ending it a different way," Trump said.
What we don't know:
It’s not clear whether the president’s latest attempts will hold up in court.
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Birthright citizenship guaranteed by Constitution
Dig deeper:
Trump has fought to end birthright citizenship as part of his aggressive crackdown on immigration. He says it makes the country a magnet for immigration, and argues American citizenship should be reserved for those who truly value it.
The other side:
Legal experts and immigration advocates counter that birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Constitution.
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"The Supreme Court already decided this issue: Birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Constitution. No additional executive order can change the meaning of the Constitution. Any executive order that tries to rewrite birthright citizenship will meet the same fate as the last one," Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said in a statement Thursday.
By the numbers:
Of the roughly 3.5 million births in the U.S. each year, the Migration Policy Institute estimates that 26,000 may be considered "birth tourism."
The backstory:
On Trump’s first day in office of his second term, he signed an executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship, which allows anyone born in the United States to automatically become an American citizen. It’s guaranteed by the 14th Amendment and was adopted after the Civil War.
The executive order was blocked by several lower courts and never took effect.
In June, the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s order by a 6-3 vote.
The Source: This article includes information from The Associated Press and previous FOX Local reporting.