President Donald Trump, responding to the recent Supreme Court declaration that apparently gives the right to U.S. citizenship to any newborn from anywhere in the world whose mother crosses the U.S. national border and makes it onto U.S. territory before giving birth, has issued two executive orders addressing the crisis.
He used the court’s own explanations by labeling “alien enemies of the United States, members of foreign terrorist organizations and large categories of people who lobby and act on behalf of foreign governments” as ineligible.
That statement essentially identifies “certain categories of children of aliens who are not entitled to birthright citizenship consistent with historial exceptions to birthright citizenship recognized by the Supreme Court” in previous rulings.
The orders also delegate to the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security authority to halt birth tourism.
Trump said it was “a very unfortunate decision in the Supreme Court … so we’re making adjustments.”
Trump warned, “They’ve taken birthright citizenship and they’ve made a joke out of it.”
He said, “I thought we were going to win it at the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, we had a bad decision. … Our country suffers because of it and we’re ending it a different way.”
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump just signed two MAJOR executive orders DISQUALIFYING large amount of illegals from receiving birthright citizenship, using the Supreme Court’s own ruling
“That includes, for example, alien enemies of the United States, members of foreign terrorist… pic.twitter.com/HJVIl902ET
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 6, 2026
.@POTUS: “We had a very unfortunate decision in the Supreme Court concerning birthright [citizenship]… so we’re making adjustments.”
President Trump is signing two Executive Orders to protect the meaning and value of American citizenship after Trump v. Barbara:
— The first… pic.twitter.com/NGSNNuzM0h
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 6, 2026
CBS reported White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said the moves, expanding categories of those recognized as ineligible for “birth tourism.” long have been discussed, and now are being done.
“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. citizen child,” Miller said. “It gives them access, under this broken system, to welfare benefits, ultimately to the voting booth, and all the other rights and privileges that belong solely to Americans.”
The original amendment was intended to address slaves brought to the U.S., Trump has argued.
“This was done right after the Civil War,” the president confirmed. “This was for the babies of slaves.”
At issue is the actual language of the amendment: “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”
Others have argued that only a constitutional amendment now will change the situation.
However, there are legislative options that can be pursued to address the practices now available for even illegal aliens to obtain citizenship for their children. Republican lawmakers have already introduced multiple bills that seek to restrict birthright citizenship.
One of the problems for those engaging in birth tourism is the fact that they could be considered to have entered the U.S. under false pretenses.
Further, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, while agreeing that Trump’s original executive order denying members of many groups birthright citizenship could not take effect, offered a solution.
He said the Constitution does not prohibit exceptions to birthright citizens.
He said while the Executive Branch cannot unilaterally strip citizenship, Congress could, consistent with the 14th Amendment, pass legislation creating exceptions for children born to foreign citizens who are unlawfully or temporarily in the U.S.
He noted Congress has considered such amendments over the past 30 years but has not adopted such plans.
That means he believes Congress could establish exceptions to what is perceived as a blanket grant of citizenship without violating the 14th Amendment.
Trump’s order warns: “Birth tourism operators use deceptive advertisements and inducements to entice foreign nationals to travel to the United States for the purpose of giving birth on American soil. They promise citizenship; access to public benefits; and short-term stays in specialized facilities, hotels, or rentals, but often fail to deliver on these promises. These operators coach their clients to misrepresent the purpose and duration of their travel to consular and border officials to obtain visas authorizing entry into the United States. Failure to appropriately combat these schemes has resulted in thriving industries around the world that profit by enabling the evasion of American immigration laws to obtain citizenship and other immigration benefits for foreign visitors, and the exploitation of the women who travel here for purposes of giving birth.”
He continues, “The immigration laws of the United States establish discrete categories of temporary nonimmigrant visas to allow foreign visitors into the United States for study, exchange, temporary employment, tourism, and other transitory activities that are now exploited by birth tourism operators. Participants in birth tourism schemes abuse these categories to establish a permanent foothold in the United States by securing the advantage of citizenship for their children and then potentially for themselves.”
That, however, “undermines the integrity of the Nation’s immigration system by enabling foreign nationals to exploit their temporary admission to obtain permanent immigration-related benefits. Birth tourism also diverts limited consular inspection and enforcement resources away from legitimate visa applicants, erodes public confidence in the faithful enforcement of the immigration laws, and impairs the executive branch’s ability to protect the national security.”
There is, in fact, a “compelling interest in ensuring that each visa category is used only for the purpose for which it was established. Foreign nationals seeking temporary admission into the United States must adhere to the purposes for which the Congress has authorized their temporary admission, and cannot be permitted to circumvent the immigration laws in an attempt to vest themselves and their children with lasting benefits that are irreconcilable with their nonimmigrant status.”
“The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall take such actions and update any rules, policies, operational guidance, or other guidance as necessary to effectuate the policy set forth in this order. Such actions may include, within the Secretaries’ respective discretion and authority, appropriate action to prevent the entry into the United States of, or the granting of any visa or other travel authorization to, any alien entering or attempting to enter the United States for the purpose of engaging in birth tourism; revoking the visa or travel authorization and permanently barring entry of any alien who enters or attempts to enter the United States for the purpose of engaging in birth tourism; denial of entry to, or removal of, any alien who previously engaged or plans to engage in birth tourism; or other appropriate action against entities, organizations, or individuals, within or outside of the United States, responsible for facilitating or enabling birth tourism in any manner.”
