Trump issues narrower executive orders on birthright citizenship and birth tourism
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President Trump signed two executive orders aimed at limiting birthright citizenship for children of foreign terrorist organization members, diplomats and alleged birth tourists, prompting mixed legal opinions and pending court challenges.
President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Aug. 6 that seek to narrow birthright citizenship and curb birth tourism. The first order directs federal agencies to withhold citizenship documents for children born in the United States when neither parent is a U.S. citizen and the parents are members of designated foreign terrorist organizations, foreign-government employees, or are involved in fraud intended to obtain citizenship. The second order instructs the State Department and Homeland Security to deny visas or initiate removal proceedings against individuals suspected of entering the country primarily to give birth.
Conservative legal analysts from the Manhattan Institute, America First Legal and the America First Policy Institute argue that the orders rely on long-standing exceptions to the 14th Amendment for children of diplomats and hostile foreign forces. "The Supreme Court has long recognized that there are exceptions to the 14th Amendment's birthright citizenship clause for the children of invading armies or ambassadors," said America First Policy Institute senior fellow Chad Mizelle.
Other experts caution that the orders may exceed presidential authority. Cato Institute immigration scholar David Bier noted that Congress defines jurisdiction and that the president unilaterally redefining "alien enemy" could be an unprecedented expansion of executive power. University of Virginia law professor Amanda Frost added that the historic exception applies only to children of enemies occupying U.S. territory, not to terrorists residing in the country.
Legal challenges are already underway. A Maryland judge is set to hear an injunction request on Aug. 28, and a related motion is pending in New Hampshire. Critics also point out that existing State Department regulations already allow visa denials for birth tourism, questioning the necessity of new orders. The White House did not comment on the orders.