Trump Again Tries To Curb Birthright Citizenship, Birth Tourism Through Executive Action

United States President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order targeting what his administration describes as “birth tourism,” renewing efforts to limit birthright citizenship despite previous legal setbacks.

Speaking to journalists in the Oval Office, Trump accused some foreign nationals of entering the United States on tourist visas primarily to give birth so their children can automatically obtain American citizenship.

“They’ve taken birthright citizenship, and they’ve made a joke out of it,” Trump said.

The president acknowledged that the US Supreme Court had rejected an earlier attempt by his administration to restrict the constitutional right to birthright citizenship, describing the ruling as “very unfortunate.”

“We’re making adjustments because it’s very unfair,” he added.

According to the White House, the new executive order is aimed at preventing individuals from exploiting the US immigration system through birth tourism while also tightening eligibility for birthright citizenship in certain cases.

Trump’s senior adviser, Stephen Miller, said the order would also seek to deny birthright citizenship to other categories of people, including children of members of what he described as “foreign terrorist organisations” and individuals acting on behalf of foreign governments.

“The move ensures that large numbers of people who wrongly (would) be getting birthright citizenship will no longer be eligible for those benefits,” Miller said.

The latest directive follows an executive order Trump signed last year declaring that children born in the United States to parents who are in the country illegally or on temporary visas would no longer automatically qualify for US citizenship.

However, federal courts blocked the policy, ruling that it conflicts with the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, which guarantees citizenship to nearly everyone born on American soil.

In a ruling delivered in late June, the US Supreme Court struck down the administration’s effort. The majority opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts and joined by two other conservative-leaning justices and the court’s three liberal justices, upheld the constitutional protection for birthright citizenship.

The 14th Amendment states that:

“All persons born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”

The constitutional provision does not apply to individuals who are not subject to US jurisdiction, such as the children of foreign diplomats. Existing US immigration law also allows consular officers to deny visas if they determine that an applicant’s primary purpose for travelling to the United States is to give birth.

The Trump administration has argued that the 14th Amendment, adopted after the American Civil War, was intended to guarantee citizenship rights for formerly enslaved people rather than children born to undocumented migrants or temporary visitors.

Under Trump’s interpretation, individuals living in the United States illegally or on temporary visas are not fully “subject to the jurisdiction” of the country and therefore should not automatically confer citizenship on children born there.

The renewed push forms part of Trump’s broader immigration agenda, which includes expanding deportations of undocumented migrants and ending deportation protections for nationals of several countries.