Trump Signs New Executive Orders Targeting Birthright Citizenship After Supreme Court Defeat

President Donald Trump signed two new executive orders on Thursday aimed at narrowing the scope of birthright citizenship, marking the administration’s latest effort to reshape U.S. immigration policy just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his broader attempt to end automatic citizenship for many children born in the United States.

The new directives, take a more targeted approach than Trump’s original executive order issued on his first day back in office. Rather than broadly denying citizenship to children born to undocumented immigrants or temporary visa holders, the administration is focusing on specific categories it argues fall outside traditional constitutional protections.

Supreme Court Rejected Earlier Order

On January 20, 2025, Trump signed Executive Order 14160, seeking to deny automatic U.S. citizenship to children born on American soil if neither parent was a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.

That policy was struck down by the Supreme Court on June 30, 2026, in Trump v. Barbara. In a 6-3 ruling, the Court held that the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause protects children born in the United States regardless of their parents’ immigration status. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, reaffirmed the long-standing constitutional interpretation that virtually all individuals born on U.S. soil are citizens at birth.

Two New Executive Orders

In response to that decision, the White House unveiled two narrower executive actions.

The first order seeks to deny birthright citizenship in limited circumstances involving individuals the administration argues have historically fallen outside the protections of the 14th Amendment. Those categories include children born to foreign diplomats and government employees with diplomatic immunity, individuals designated as “alien enemies” or members of foreign terrorist organizations, parents accused of committing fraud or engaging in commercial arrangements to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children, and certain employees of international organizations who possess diplomatic-style immunities.

The second executive order targets so-called “birth tourism.” It directs the Departments of State and Homeland Security to increase scrutiny of visa applicants believed to be traveling to the United States primarily to give birth so their children can obtain U.S. citizenship. The order also authorizes penalties, including visa revocations and potential future travel bans, for individuals found to have violated those policies.

Legal Fight Begins Again

The administration argues the new directives rely on narrow historical exceptions left unresolved by the Supreme Court’s June ruling rather than attempting to broadly redefine birthright citizenship.

Civil liberties organizations disagree.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups announced they intend to immediately challenge the new executive orders in federal court, arguing they represent another unconstitutional attempt to limit protections guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.

For now, the Supreme Court’s June decision remains controlling law, meaning birthright citizenship continues to apply broadly across the United States. Unless federal courts issue injunctions blocking the new directives, however, federal agencies have been instructed to begin implementing the administration’s revised visa screening and citizenship-related policies while the legal challenges move forward.