President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP
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Alex Brandon/AP
WASHINGTON — On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced his renewed effort to restrict birthright citizenship in the United States. This move comes despite the Supreme Court’s previous decision to reject his initial attempt to limit citizenship for those born in the country.
The president revealed he would be signing two executive orders related to immigration. The first aims to reduce the number of people automatically eligible for U.S. citizenship simply by being born on American soil.
The second executive order targets “birth tourism,” intending to impose stricter visa requirements for foreign nationals seeking to give birth in the U.S. Trump expressed confidence that these measures would withstand constitutional scrutiny, although he did not provide further specifics.
Previously, in June, the Supreme Court had dismissed Trump’s efforts to deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. to individuals residing illegally or temporarily, affirming a broad interpretation of birthright citizenship.
On the first day of his second term, Trump signed an executive order to end birthright citizenship, which grants citizenship to anyone born in the U.S.
Trump’s administration faced immediate legal challenges from opponents who argued that the executive order violated the 14th Amendment, which, since the Civil War, has guaranteed citizenship to nearly everyone born in the U.S. The order was subsequently blocked by lower courts and never implemented.
In June, the Supreme Court invalidated Trump’s order with a 6-3 vote. However, the decision was too narrow for many immigration advocates and legal analysts who believed the principle of birthright citizenship had long been settled.
