President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday seeking to restrict automatic US citizenship for children born on American soil, a renewed push months after the Supreme Court struck down his earlier, broader attempt on 30 June.
The first order expands exceptions to deny citizenship to children of foreign terrorist group members, foreign government employees, and parents who obtained residency fraudulently. The administration also plans to extend the existing diplomatic exception to cover additional embassy and government staff. A second order targets birth tourism, directing agencies to pursue visa revocations and permanent entry bans for those who travel to the US primarily to give birth. The White House classifies such travel as entry fraud and seeks to restrict the use of surrogates.
Birth tourism accounts for roughly 22,000 to 26,000 babies annually, less than 1% of all US births. The American Civil Liberties Union called the orders unconstitutional, while the administration frames the measures as central to its campaign against irregular migration.