Trump signs new orders to curb birthright citizenship, targets “birth tourism”
Two executive orders signed on August 7, 2026 would bar automatic citizenship for babies born after mothers travel to the U.S. to give birth and allow retroactive revocation for citizenship obtained by fraud.
President Donald Trump on August 7, 2026 signed two new executive orders aimed at narrowing who can automatically receive U.S. citizenship by birth, reviving a policy fight he previously lost before the Supreme Court of the United States.
Under the first order, newborns whose mothers enter the United States solely to give birth would no longer be entitled to automatic citizenship at birth, a move the administration says is meant to curb so-called "birth tourism."
The second order gives U.S. authorities the power to strip American citizenship retroactively from people found to have obtained it through false or fraudulent information. The measures would also apply to children of diplomats and employees of foreign governments.
Legal challenges likely
Observers say the new steps are almost certain to prompt fresh litigation. At the end of June, the Supreme Court of the United States delivered a significant legal defeat to Trump when it ruled that children born on U.S. soil continue to acquire citizenship automatically — a ruling that covers children born to parents who are in the country unlawfully or only temporarily.
Trump described that earlier decision as "very unfortunate," but his latest orders show he is not abandoning efforts to limit the long-standing practice of birthright citizenship. Legal experts expect immediate court challenges from civil-rights groups and immigrant-rights organizations.
Photo: press material from the event
