Trump Signs New Order Banning ‘Birth Tourism’ Despite Supreme Court Ruling

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order targeting what his administration describes as “birth tourism,” in another attempt to restrict access to birthright citizenship despite a recent Supreme Court ruling that blocked his broader effort to end automatic citizenship for certain children born in the United States.

Trump signed the executive order with the White House, saying the measure is aimed at pregnant foreign nationals who travel to the U.S. primarily to give birth so their children can obtain American citizenship.

The move came just over a month after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship through executive action, ruling that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present are protected under the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump criticised the Supreme Court’s ruling, describing it as a “very unfortunate decision” and accusing people of building businesses around birth tourism.

“That’s not the way it’s supposed to work. It’s a disgrace. They’re buying their way in, and we’re not going to let it happen,” Trump said.

White House aide Stephen Miller said the administration was formally ending the practice through the new executive order.

Trump had earlier signed an executive order on January 21 seeking to end birthright citizenship for certain children born in the United States, particularly those whose parents were in the country illegally or temporarily.

The order triggered a legal battle that eventually reached the Supreme Court. In its June 30 ruling, the Court held that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment, rejecting Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship through Executive Order 14160.

The justices said the Citizenship Clause must be interpreted in light of its historical origins, with the history supporting the principle that birth on U.S. soil generally confers citizenship, subject to narrow exceptions.

The issue has implications for immigrant communities, including Nigerians. More than 370,000 Nigerians are estimated to live in the United States, although the exact figure may have changed over the years.

The new order also focuses attention on the long-running practice of birth tourism, in which some foreign nationals travel to the United States specifically to give birth and secure citizenship for their children. The Centre for Immigration Studies estimated that between 20,000 and 25,000 mothers travelled to the U.S. for birth tourism during a one-year period between 2016 and 2017.

Trump’s latest move is part of his broader immigration agenda, which has included tighter border controls, stricter visa rules and expanded deportation measures.

The administration has also introduced several policies affecting Nigerian travellers, including changes to non-immigrant visa validity, additional visa restrictions and a visa bond of up to 15,000 dollars for some Nigerians applying for B1/B2 business and tourism visas.