President Donald Trump reopened a major constitutional fight Thursday, just five weeks after losing at the Supreme Court.
Trump signed two executive orders on August 6, 2026, aimed at narrowing birthright citizenship and stopping what his administration calls birth tourism. The actions mark his second attempt to reshape who receives American citizenship at birth.
The new orders are narrower than the policy the Supreme Court rejected in June. Still, immigration advocates say a president cannot use executive power to change citizenship protections guaranteed by the Constitution.
What Trump’s new orders would do
The first order directs federal agencies not to recognize citizenship in several specific cases when neither parent is a United States citizen.
According to the official White House executive order, the affected categories include children whose parent is classified as an alien enemy. That definition includes members of designated foreign terrorist organizations and certain sanctioned individuals.
The order also covers some children born to foreign government workers. Those categories include ambassadors, foreign embassy and consulate employees, other foreign government employees, and workers who hold international organization immunity.
Children of accredited foreign diplomats have long fallen outside the usual birthright citizenship rule. The new order uses a broader definition that reaches additional foreign government workers.
The policy also targets cases involving commercial arrangements or fraud. This includes parents who pay an operator to arrange a trip to the United States for childbirth. It also includes certain commercial surrogacy arrangements involving a surrogate inside the country.
Another section addresses people born in United States territories where federal law does not grant citizenship. The order does not independently change citizenship laws in territories where Congress has already granted it.
Second order targets birth tourism
Trump’s second executive order focuses on foreign visitors who enter the country on temporary visas for the purpose of giving birth.
The birth tourism order directs the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to tighten visa, travel authorization, and entry policies.
Possible actions include denying or revoking visas and refusing entry. The order also allows authorities to pursue organizations and individuals accused of helping visitors enter the country for birth tourism.
Officials may grant exemptions for humanitarian reasons or when entry serves the national interest. The administration must now develop the rules and guidance needed to carry out the policy.
Visa applicants already face restrictions if officials determine that their main reason for visiting is to give birth in the United States. Federal prosecutors have also pursued companies accused of helping clients hide that purpose from immigration authorities.
Supreme Court rejected Trump’s broader policy
Trump signed his first birthright citizenship order on January 20, 2025. It sought to deny citizenship to many children whose parents were in the country illegally or held temporary immigration status.
On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court rejected that policy in a 6 to 3 decision. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion.
The Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. Barbara found that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present remain subject to United States jurisdiction. Therefore, they are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Court relied partly on United States v. Wong Kim Ark, a landmark 1898 decision. That case recognized the citizenship of a man born in San Francisco to Chinese parents who were not American citizens.
The Constitution contains only narrow exceptions. These have traditionally included children of accredited foreign diplomats and children born during a hostile military occupation.
Trump says the new approach is constitutional
Trump criticized the June ruling while signing the new actions in the Oval Office.
He said he expected to win the earlier case but believed the Supreme Court issued an unfair decision. Trump argued that the new orders take a different legal path and will survive constitutional review.
White House officials say the latest policy works within exceptions recognized by the Court. They argue that citizenship should not result from fraud, foreign immunity, or organized birth tourism schemes.
Executive orders guide federal agencies, but they do not carry the same legal force as legislation passed by Congress. Courts can block an order if judges find that it conflicts with federal law or the Constitution.
Legal challenges appear likely
The American Civil Liberties Union said the new citizenship order cannot override the Fourteenth Amendment. Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the group’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, predicted that the latest attempt would suffer the same legal fate as Trump’s first order.
Other immigration advocates warned that enforcement could lead to increased questioning of pregnant travelers. They also raised concerns about how officials will determine a visitor’s true reason for entering the country.
The administration has not yet provided detailed enforcement standards. The citizenship order instructs federal agencies to publish implementation guidance within 30 days.
That guidance may determine how quickly the policy affects passport applications, Social Security records, and other citizenship documents. Lawsuits could arrive before agencies fully implement the new rules.
How common is birth tourism
No federal agency publishes an official yearly count of birth tourism cases. That makes the size of the issue difficult to measure.
Reuters reported that the Center for Immigration Studies estimated between 20,000 and 25,000 such births during a one year period covering 2016 and 2017. The organization supports lower immigration levels.
The United States recorded about 3.6 million births in 2025, according to Reuters. Even the higher private estimates would represent a small share of total annual births.
What happens next
The new orders place birthright citizenship back at the center of Trump’s second term immigration agenda. They also test how far a president can go after the Supreme Court has already ruled on the constitutional issue.
Federal agencies must now prepare enforcement policies. Civil rights organizations are expected to challenge any part of the orders that denies citizenship beyond the Constitution’s established exceptions.
The next phase will likely unfold in federal court. Judges must decide whether Trump’s narrower policy respects the Supreme Court ruling or attempts to bypass it.