Overview
- President Trump signed the two executive orders on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, one that bans so-called birth tourism and another that seeks to narrow which U.S.-born children qualify automatically for citizenship.
- The birth-tourism order directs consular and border officials to restrict visas and to pursue facilitators of commercial birth-arrangement schemes that the White House says exploit U.S. citizenship rules.
- The citizenship order lists new categories the administration says are ineligible for automatic citizenship, including children of foreign government employees, people tied to designated terrorist groups, alleged fraud cases and some commercial surrogacy births.
- The White House delegated enforcement to the State Department, Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department, a move that relies on visa rules, consular discretion and criminal fraud statutes rather than new legislation.
- Legal experts and civil-rights groups say immediate court challenges are likely because the Supreme Court on June 30 reaffirmed broad 14th Amendment birthright protections, and Congress would be required to change citizenship rules for U.S. territories.