WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday seeking to restrict birthright citizenship in limited circumstances and curb so-called "birth tourism," reopening a legal and political battle over immigration policy weeks after the Supreme Court struck down a broader effort to limit automatic citizenship for children born on U.S. soil.
The White House said the orders were designed to address what the administration described as abuses of the immigration system while remaining within constitutional boundaries identified by the court. The measures direct federal agencies to revise policies governing citizenship documentation and visa screening in specific cases and to develop new procedures targeting foreign nationals who travel to the United States primarily to give birth.
One order expands the categories of children whom the administration argues are not entitled to automatic U.S. citizenship, including certain cases involving diplomats, individuals designated as "alien enemies," and parents alleged to have obtained immigration benefits through fraud, according to administration officials. A separate order instructs the Departments of State and Homeland Security to strengthen efforts against commercial birth tourism operations and tighten scrutiny of visa applicants suspected of traveling to the United States to secure citizenship for a child.
Trump said the actions were intended to prevent exploitation of U.S. immigration laws and protect the integrity of citizenship. White House officials argued the measures were narrower than an executive order issued earlier in his second term that the Supreme Court invalidated in June.
Immigration advocates and constitutional scholars quickly criticized the new directives, saying the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees citizenship to nearly everyone born in the United States. The American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations said they expected the latest orders to face immediate legal challenges, arguing that the administration cannot alter constitutional protections through executive action.
The Supreme Court ruled in June that Trump's previous executive order attempting to deny citizenship to children born in the United States to parents who were in the country unlawfully or on temporary visas violated the Constitution's longstanding interpretation of the Citizenship Clause.
Research cited by the Migration Policy Institute estimates that birth tourism accounts for roughly 26,000 births annually, a small share of the approximately 3.5 million births recorded each year in the United States. Immigration experts note that visa fraud related to birth tourism is already prohibited under existing law.
The latest executive orders are expected to face court challenges as federal agencies begin implementing the directives.
