Another Trump Initiative Faces a Serious Obstacle
US President Donald Trump signed two new executive orders aimed at restricting birthright citizenship and combating so-called birth tourism. This comes after the Supreme Court rejected a previous attempt on June 30, citing the 14th Amendment. Lawyers doubt the constitutionality of the new measures, noting that a child born on US soil receives citizenship regardless of parental violations. Researchers estimate the number of such births at 5,000–10,000 per year.
US President Donald Trump signed two new executive orders aimed at restricting birthright citizenship and combating so-called birth tourism. This comes after the Supreme Court, by a vote of six to three, rejected a previous attempt by Trump to limit birthright citizenship on June 30, citing the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. One of the new orders directs federal agencies not to recognize citizenship for a child if one parent engaged in fraudulent activity to obtain citizenship. The second targets birth tourism and imposes restrictions on issuing visas to foreigners suspected of intending to come to the US to give birth. Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia, notes that a child born on US soil receives citizenship regardless of parental violations. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania estimated that between 2014 and 2024, there were approximately 5,000 to 10,000 births per year in the US related to birth tourism. Lawyers are divided on the fate of the new orders' provisions: some may withstand judicial review, while others are vulnerable. The White House rejects claims that the orders contradict the Supreme Court.