Overview
- President Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday, Aug. 6, directing a ban on so‑called birth tourism and new limits on who qualifies for automatic U.S. citizenship at birth.
- One order tells the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to restrict visas and consular authorizations tied to commercial birth‑tourism schemes, and the other expands categories the administration says are ineligible for birthright citizenship.
- The orders delegate implementation to the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Attorney General and rely on visa rules and agency enforcement rather than new legislation.
- Legal and civil‑rights groups say the measures are likely unconstitutional and lawsuits are expected, because the Supreme Court on June 30 reaffirmed that the 14th Amendment grants citizenship to nearly all people born in the United States.
- The administration describes birth tourism as a large problem but independent estimates and government data show much smaller numbers, a factual dispute that will shape both enforcement and the legal fights to come.