The measures follow a Supreme Court setback for the administration’s broader effort to limit citizenship for children born in the United States.
WASHINGTON — President Trump signed two executive orders on Wednesday aimed at narrowing the circumstances in which children born in the United States may receive citizenship and expanding the government’s power to act against what the administration calls “birth tourism.”
The actions revive one of the most consequential legal debates in American immigration policy: who, exactly, is entitled to citizenship at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment.
But the new orders are far more limited than the sweeping directive Mr. Trump issued shortly after returning to office in 2025. That earlier order sought to deny citizenship to many children born in the United States when neither parent was a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. The Supreme Court rejected that broader approach in June, reaffirming that the Constitution’s Citizenship Clause generally protects children born on American soil, subject to narrow historical exceptions.
The administration’s new order seeks to operate within those exceptions.
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It directs federal agencies not to recognize citizenship for a child born in the United States when neither parent is a citizen and one parent is classified as an “alien enemy,” including certain foreign terrorist organization members and designated global terrorists. It also addresses children of foreign government employees, including diplomats, consular personnel and some employees of international organizations.
A separate provision targets commercial arrangements intended to secure citizenship through a birth in the United States. The order describes such arrangements as including payments or other transactions designed to ensure that a pregnant woman or surrogate gives birth in the country.
The second executive order directs the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to take action against “birth tourism,” defined as entering the United States on a nonimmigrant visa for the purpose of giving birth on American soil. The agencies may deny or revoke visas, refuse entry, seek removal and impose permanent bars on people found to have participated in such arrangements, as well as those who facilitate them.
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The administration has argued that birth tourism exploits visitor visa categories and allows foreign nationals to obtain lasting immigration benefits through short-term travel. Immigration advocates are likely to challenge how the government determines a traveler’s intent and whether the rules could unfairly affect pregnant visitors with legitimate reasons for coming to the United States.
The practical reach of the citizenship order may be limited in some areas. Children of foreign diplomats have long been treated differently under American citizenship law because diplomats are not generally subject to the full jurisdiction of the United States. Still, the order’s additional categories, particularly its treatment of alleged commercial birth arrangements, are likely to be examined closely in court.
The Fourteenth Amendment states that all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to its jurisdiction, are citizens. For more than a century, the Supreme Court’s interpretation of that language has supported birthright citizenship for nearly all children born in the country, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
The White House said federal agencies would issue implementation guidance within 30 days. Until then, important questions remain unresolved: how officials will identify a prohibited commercial arrangement, what evidence will be required and whether the government can enforce the new restrictions without running afoul of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling.
For immigrant families, the immediate legal reality remains unchanged: children born in the United States are generally U.S. citizens. But Wednesday’s orders signal that the administration intends to keep testing the boundaries of that principle, this time through narrower categories and tougher visa enforcement.
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