President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday aimed at altering birthright citizenship and addressing birth tourism, following a Supreme Court decision he labeled as “very unfortunate.” He stated that the administration is implementing changes to address the issue. “They’re building businesses around birthright citizenship,” Trump commented. “That’s not the way it was supposed to work. It’s a disgrace. They’re buying their way in, and we’re not going to let it happen.”
These orders follow the Supreme Court’s block on a previous executive order by Trump intended to limit automatic citizenship under the 14th Amendment.
Targeting Birth Tourism
The White House outlined that the new directives leverage existing executive and immigration authorities. They aim to narrow automatic citizenship eligibility in specific cases and target foreigners traveling to the U.S. to give birth. White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller said the first order expands the list of individuals ineligible for birthright citizenship. This list includes “alien enemies of the United States, members of foreign terrorist organizations, and large categories of people who lobby and act on behalf of foreign governments.”
Miller noted that the second order marks a historic move by banning birth tourism for the first time. The administration plans to deny visas to individuals entering the U.S. to give birth and gain automatic citizenship for their child. Miller referred to Section 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, describing birth tourism as “a fraud on the American system”
Enforcement and Legal Challenges
When asked about enforcement, Trump stated, “We’re cracking down very big. This will give us the right to do it in a much more forceful manner.” Regarding legal challenges, Trump expressed confidence in the orders holding up, stating, “I think it will.”
Will Scharf, White House staff secretary, indicated that the administration’s approach involves visa denials and law enforcement against organized birth tourism operations. He emphasized that this strategy relies on “legally validated means” and does not clash with the Supreme Court’s ruling.
As of publication time, the text of the executive orders was not released. Requests for additional comments from the White House went unanswered.
Jasmine Baehr, a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital, contributed to this report.