Trump signs new executive orders in fresh attempt to change birthright citizenship law. So what happens now?

Trump Signs Executive Orders Addressing Birthright Citizenship and Birth Tourism

President Trump signed two executive orders on August 6, 2026, that address birthright citizenship for certain categories of individuals and practices associated with birth tourism. The first order targets children born to foreign diplomatic staff in the United States and extends provisions to U.S. territories. The second order focuses on birth tourism, the practice in which noncitizens travel to the United States specifically to give birth.

These actions follow a June 2026 Supreme Court decision that addressed an earlier executive order attempting to limit birthright citizenship. In that 6-3 ruling, the Court held that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully present or temporarily present remain subject to U.S. jurisdiction under the Fourteenth Amendment and are therefore citizens. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the Citizenship Clause’s language does not support limiting citizenship to children of those domiciled in the United States and found scant evidence for a narrower interpretation. Justices Thomas, Gorsuch, and Alito dissented.

The new orders were signed in the Oval Office. Trump stated that the prior Supreme Court decision was unfair and has previously criticized the Court’s rulings on birthright citizenship and tariff policy for imposing significant costs. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller attended the signing.

The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868 after the Civil War, was intended to secure citizenship rights for formerly enslaved African Americans following the 1857 Dred Scott decision. Congress later codified the prevailing interpretation of the clause in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. The Supreme Court first applied the clause to children of noncitizens in the 1898 case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, establishing automatic citizenship for those born on U.S. soil and subject to its jurisdiction.

Reactions to the new orders have varied. California Governor Gavin Newsom posted the text of the Fourteenth Amendment’s citizenship clause on social media. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stated that efforts to reinterpret the clause through executive action are illegal and would likely face court challenges. An American Civil Liberties Union spokesperson noted that the organization had previously litigated similar orders and asserted that the Supreme Court had already addressed the underlying constitutional question.

The administration has not released the full text of both orders or detailed implementation plans. Legal analysts note that any new restrictions would likely be tested in federal courts, where prior challenges to reinterpretations of the Citizenship Clause have produced mixed outcomes at lower levels before reaching the Supreme Court.

Birth tourism has been documented in government reports and academic studies as involving a small fraction of total U.S. births, though precise annual figures vary by source. The new orders do not alter existing visa requirements or immigration enforcement mechanisms already in place for expectant noncitizens.

The interaction between the June 2026 ruling and the current orders remains subject to judicial review. The dissents in the earlier case indicated ongoing disagreement among justices over the scope of the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Lower courts have historically followed the Wong Kim Ark precedent when reviewing challenges to birthright citizenship claims.

Further litigation is expected once the orders are published in the Federal Register and enforcement begins. The Department of Justice has not yet issued guidance on how agencies will apply the new provisions to diplomatic personnel, territorial births, or cases involving birth tourism.