President Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday, marking his latest attempt to restrict birthright citizenship for certain children born in the United States. This move follows a Supreme Court decision in June that invalidated his initial executive order on the subject.
Speaking during an Oval Office signing ceremony, the president described the previous Supreme Court ruling as a “very unfortunate decision” that was “close,” noting that his administration is now “making adjustments” to its policy approach.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller explained that one of the new orders focuses on curtailing commercial “birth tourism.” The second order expands the criteria for individuals ineligible for birthright citizenship, specifically targeting children born to foreign citizens who engage in lobbying efforts on behalf of foreign governments.
Miller emphasized that the issue of birth tourism has been a topic of national debate for decades. He described a scenario where individuals enter the country under the guise of tourism to visit national parks or monuments, with the primary intent of securing automatic U.S. citizenship for their children. He argued that this system grants access to welfare benefits and future voting rights that he believes should be reserved for Americans.
The president has long expressed opposition to current birthright citizenship policies, frequently arguing that the 14th Amendment was intended solely to address the status of children born to formerly enslaved people after the Civil War. The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, stipulates that all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens.
In 2025, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the president’s first executive order regarding this issue was unlawful and inconsistent with the 14th Amendment. When asked on Thursday if he believes his latest directives will withstand constitutional scrutiny, the president expressed confidence, stating, “I think it will.”
The debate over birth tourism surfaced during Supreme Court oral arguments. U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer argued that such practices demonstrate the negative consequences of the current interpretation of the Citizenship Clause. Sauer remarked, “We’re in a new world now… where 8 billion people are one plane ride away from having a child who is a U.S. citizen.”
Chief Justice John Roberts challenged this perspective during the proceedings, noting that while the global landscape may have shifted, the legal framework remains constant. “Well, it’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution,” Roberts replied to the solicitor general.
“This has been something that people have talked about, not only for years, but for decades,” Miller said of “birth tourism.”
“The idea that people come here pretending to be a tourist, pretending to be a visitor, saying they want to go to Disneyland or they want to go visit a monument or go to a national park, but the real reason they’re here is to have a child, to make that child an automatic citizen, leave our country, and then have a U.S.
Melissa Quinn contributed to this report.
Source: CBS News
