President Donald Trump on Thursday, 7 August signed two new executive orders targeting birthright citizenship, moving to circumvent a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling from June that struck down his earlier, broader directive. The new orders are narrower in scope and invoke presidential authority under the Immigration and Naturalisation Act, rather than a blanket constitutional reinterpretation.

What the Two New Orders Do

The first order targets 'birth tourism' — denying citizenship to children born in the US to women who travel on tourist visas specifically to give birth, so that their babies automatically acquire American citizenship. The Trump administration argues such women are committing fraud by misrepresenting their purpose to consular officers.

The second order bars citizenship for children born in the US to foreigners with links to terrorism, to diplomats or employees of foreign governments, and to staff of international organisations. Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, widely regarded as the driving force behind the administration's immigration agenda, said the order would also apply to children of those who 'lobby and act on behalf of foreign governments.'

Trump's Reading of the 14th Amendment

Trump reiterated his long-held position that the 14th Amendment — which guarantees citizenship to anyone born on US soil — was enacted 'right after the Civil War' solely to secure citizenship 'for the babies of slaves' and should not be applied universally today. He called the Supreme Court's earlier ruling 'a very, very unfortunate decision', adding: 'Our country suffers because of it. And we're ending it (in) a different way.'

He warned that a 'big crackdown' on birth tourism was imminent, and that his administration could now act in a 'forceful manner.' Trump also claimed, without citing a source, that some men were registering citizenship claims for as many as '56' and '90' children.

The Supreme Court Backstory

In its June 2025 ruling, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 to invalidate Trump's original birthright citizenship order, holding that it violated the 14th Amendment. Notably, two of Trump's own appointees — Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Justice Brett Kavanaugh — joined conservative Chief Justice John Roberts and the three liberal justices in the majority. Trump had made history by personally attending the oral arguments, becoming the first sitting president to attend a Supreme Court session — a move that ultimately failed to sway the outcome.

Birth Tourism: The Background

Birth tourism has surfaced periodically in US news. In a prominent 2020 case on Long Island, New York, prosecutors alleged that operators of a so-called 'birth house' arranged the delivery of 119 babies to Turkish women who paid between $7,500 and $10,000 per birth. Prosecutors further alleged the operators fraudulently billed the New York Medicaid programme — a government insurance scheme for low-income residents — $2.1 million.

Miller framed the broader issue in stark terms: children born under such arrangements gain access, in his words, to 'welfare benefits, ultimately to the voting booth, and all the other rights and privileges that belong solely to Americans.'

Legal Challenges Ahead

Legal experts widely expect the new orders to face immediate court challenges, likely revisiting the scope and meaning of the 14th Amendment. Miller argued the orders are legally distinguishable from the earlier directive because they rely on the president's statutory authority under the Immigration and Naturalisation Act rather than a constitutional rewrite. However, critics argue the orders still conflict with the amendment's plain text. Notably, the order targeting diplomats' children is legally puzzling to some observers — diplomats were already excluded from birthright citizenship under the amendment's existing 'subject to the jurisdiction' clause, raising questions about the order's practical effect.