Donald Trump isn’t backing down on birthright citizenship despite the Supreme Court shutting him down weeks ago. The president signed two new executive orders targeting who qualifies for automatic US citizenship.
Donald Trump’s new executive orders revive the birthright citizenship battle weeks after the high court ruling
Donald Trump signed two new executive orders on Thursday targeting birthright citizenship, according to The Guardian. These orders come just weeks after the Supreme Court rejected his initial, broader attempt. The court voided his Day One executive order on June 30, reaffirming constitutional protections.
The first order seeks to expand categories of children ineligible for automatic US citizenship. Stephen Miller said it targets children of “foreign terrorist organizations” members specifically. It also covers “large categories of people who lobby and act on behalf of foreign governments.” The order further broadens exceptions beyond foreign ambassadors to include more government employees. It would also deny citizenship to children whose parents “engaged in fraudulent activity to obtain citizenship.”
The second order targets so-called “birth tourism” to the United States. Trump claimed “hundreds of thousands” of people have undertaken this practice without providing evidence. However, the Migration Policy Institute estimates only 22,000 to 26,000 such births occur annually. Government data show just 9,600 births to mothers with foreign addresses in 2024.
Trump lashed out at the Supreme Court over its earlier ruling on Thursday. He called it “a very unfortunate decision in the Supreme Court concerning birthright.” He added that his administration is “making adjustments because it’s very unfair.” Meanwhile, traveling to the US to give birth for citizenship purposes already constitutes visa fraud.
The ACLU quickly condemned the new orders as unconstitutional on Thursday. Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, responded firmly. He stated the “Supreme Court already decided this issue: birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Constitution.” He added that “no additional executive order can change the meaning of the Constitution.” Legal challenges to both executive orders are widely expected in the coming weeks.
Originally reported by Vritti Johar on Mandatory.com.
