Trump has issued two new executive orders aimed at curbing 'birth tourism' and redefining birthright citizenship, sparking immediate controversy and legal challenges over their constitutionality.
Key Points
- President Trump signed two executive orders to combat 'birth tourism' and restrict birthright citizenship, following a Supreme Court rejection of a previous directive.
- One order targets individuals involved in commercial 'birth tourism' by denying them entry to the US.
- The second order broadens the categories of individuals deemed ineligible for birthright citizenship, including children of foreign lobbyists and those born from commercial birth tourism transactions.
- Trump criticised the Supreme Court's earlier decision, which reaffirmed the 14th Amendment's guarantee of birthright citizenship.
- Immigration experts, including Cyrus Mehta and the ACLU, argue that the new executive orders are unconstitutional and are likely to face legal challenges.
United States President Donald Trump has signed two executive orders to crack down on birth tourism and limit the number of people eligible for birthright citizenship, weeks after the Supreme Court struck down his directive in this regard.
One order signed by Trump on Thursday targets people who engage in commercial "birth tourism" by seeking to deny them access to the country. The other expands the definitions of people that it states are ineligible for birthright citizenship, such as children of foreign citizens who lobby on behalf of foreign governments.
Trump's Response to Supreme Court Ruling
On June 30, the US Supreme Court struck down Trump's executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship, reaffirming the more than 100-year-old understanding that nearly all of those born in the United States are citizens.
Talking to reporters at the Oval Office after signing the executive orders, Trump lashed out at the Supreme Court for its June 30 order and asserted that the fresh move was aimed at "making adjustments".
"We had a very unfortunate decision in the Supreme Court concerning birthright, it was close, but a very, very unfortunate decision. So we're making adjustments," the president said.
He was flanked by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf.
Understanding the Fourteenth Amendment
Ratified on July 9, 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalised in the US, including former slaves.
"This was done right after the Civil War. This was for the babies of slaves, and what's happening now? People are building businesses around it," Trump said.
Miller, considered the architect of Trump's anti-immigration agenda, said people come to the US pretending to be a tourist, but the real reason they're here is to have a child, to make that child an automatic citizen.
"It gives them access, under this broken system, to welfare benefits, ultimately to the voting booth, and all the other rights and privileges that belong solely to Americans," Miller said.
Details of the New Orders
One of the orders lists several categories of people who should not be granted citizenship documents, including the children of people who engaged "in a a commercial transaction to ensure that the person's mother is present in the United States, or a territory of the United States, to give birth."
Also listed are children whose parents belong to terrorist groups, children of foreign government employees and children who were born in a US territory "where citizenship is not conferred by Federal statute".
Legal Challenges and Expert Opinion
Immigration experts lashed out at the new executive orders signed by Trump contending that they were unconstitutional.
"Trump's new EO on birthright citizenship is also blatantly unconstitutional when it precludes citizenship if the parents of the person engages in a commercial transaction to ensure that the person's mother is present in the United States, or a territory of the United States to give birth," Cyrus Mehta, a New York-based Immigration attorney said in a post on X.
"The meaning of commercial transaction is too vague and violates the 14th Amendment. It should be struck down," he added.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, the most expansive census-based estimate puts birth tourism at 22,000 to 26,000 babies born annually on US soil, although government data show just 9,600 births to mothers with foreign addresses in 2024.
"The Supreme Court already decided this issue: Birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Constitution. Any executive order that tries to attack birthright citizenship will meet the same fate as President Trump's last one," the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement.
