President Trump has issued new executive orders designed to restrict birthright citizenship, marking his second attempt to curtail a constitutional right that has existed for over 150 years. The orders come just weeks after the Supreme Court struck down his first effort on this issue.
The new orders attempt to expand the categories of children born on U.S. soil who would be ineligible for automatic citizenship and target what Trump calls "birth tourism." The president claimed this practice involves "hundreds of thousands" of people annually. However, according to the Migration Policy Institute, actual numbers are far lower. Census-based estimates put birth tourism at between 22,000 and 26,000 babies born annually to mothers visiting the country, while government data from 2024 showed just 9,600 births to mothers with foreign addresses.
Trump has pursued this issue for over a decade. In a 2015 campaign event, he used the term "anchor babies" to describe children born to undocumented immigrants and promised to end birthright citizenship if elected. As president in 2018, he said he would use an executive order to deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. to non-citizens, claiming this could be accomplished without a constitutional amendment.
The legal argument centers on the 14th Amendment's guarantee that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof" are citizens. Trump's administration argues this language should be interpreted more narrowly to exclude certain children, a position supported by legal figures like John Eastman, a former Supreme Court clerk. This interpretation remains a minority view among legal scholars.
The Supreme Court's June decision striking down Trump's first order provided clear guidance. Chief Justice John Roberts stated the original order violated the 14th Amendment. Despite this ruling, the administration has crafted these new orders more narrowly, hoping they will survive legal challenges.
Civil rights groups and Democratic-led states have already signaled their intent to challenge the orders in court. The American Civil Liberties Union has indicated it will pursue legal action. Legal experts expect the case will ultimately reach the Supreme Court, where justices must determine whether the executive branch has authority to reinterpret the 14th Amendment without congressional action or a constitutional amendment.
The policy represents one of Trump's significant immigration initiatives during his second term. Any successful change would fundamentally alter how citizenship is determined for children born on American soil and would affect countless families. The outcome of the legal battle will likely define citizenship rights for years to come and test the boundaries of presidential power over immigration policy.