Trump Isn’t Giving Up: Fresh Orders Reignite US Birthright Citizenship Battle

US President Donald Trump has reopened the contentious battle over birthright citizenship, signing two new executive orders aimed at restricting eligibility for citizenship and tightening rules surrounding so-called “birth tourism.”

The move comes just weeks after the US Supreme Court rejected Trump’s earlier attempt to end birthright citizenship for certain children born in the United States. The latest orders represent a fresh effort by the administration to reshape the country’s immigration rules despite constitutional challenges.

One of the executive orders targets people involved in what the administration describes as commercial birth tourism. It seeks to restrict access to the United States for foreign visitors who allegedly travel to the country primarily to give birth, allowing their children to acquire US citizenship.

The second order expands the categories of children the administration says should not automatically receive citizenship. It includes children whose parents are involved in certain commercial arrangements connected with birth tourism, as well as children of foreign government employees and members of terrorist organisations.

Speaking at the Oval Office, Trump criticised the Supreme Court’s June 30 decision, calling it “very unfortunate” and saying his administration was now making “adjustments” to its approach.

The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, has long been understood to grant citizenship to nearly all people born on US soil. Trump argued that the provision was originally intended to address the citizenship of children of former slaves and said businesses are now being built around birth tourism.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller defended the measures, alleging that some foreign nationals enter the US under the pretext of tourism while actually intending to have a child who would receive citizenship.

However, immigration experts and civil liberties groups immediately questioned the legality of the new orders. Immigration attorney Cyrus Mehta argued that the provisions could violate the 14th Amendment and said the language surrounding commercial transactions was too vague.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also warned that the Constitution already protects birthright citizenship and predicted that any attempt to undermine it through executive action would face another legal challenge.

Estimates from the Migration Policy Institute suggest that between 22,000 and 26,000 babies may be born annually in the US to mothers visiting for birth tourism, while government data recorded about 9,600 births in 2024 to mothers whose addresses were outside the country.

The new orders are therefore likely to trigger another major legal and political battle over the scope of presidential immigration powers and the constitutional meaning of citizenship by birth.