President Donald Trump on Thursday signed two executive orders aimed at curtailing birthright citizenship after the Supreme Court rejected his previous effort to deter such routes to citizenship.
Since entering office, Trump has repeatedly spoken out against birthright citizenship, with the White House taking particular aim at “birth tourism” through which pregnant foreigners travel to the U.S. to give birth. In June, the Supreme Court had rejected Trump’s previous effort to curb the practice as unconstitutional, but this week he sought to accomplish his goal through two executive orders.
“That practice of birth tourism is, as of the signing of this order, hereby banned,” White House aide Stephen Miller said at the signing ceremony in the Oval Office.
The new executive orders also limit the rights of children born to foreign government employees in the U.S., as well as the children of people classified as “alien enemies.” If Congress proceeds with a proposed law to end automatic citizenship, the orders could also affect people born in U.S. territories.
It is, however, likely that the latest orders would face similar legal challenges as the previous one set aside by the Supreme Court.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Trump described the Supreme Court’s June ruling as “very unfortunate,” claiming people were “building businesses around” birth tourism. “That’s not the way it’s supposed to work. It’s a disgrace. They’re buying their way in, and we’re not going to let it happen,” he added.
According to the Center for Immigration Studies, there were an estimated 20,000-25,000 mothers who traveled to the U.S. for birth tourism between 2016 and 2017. For context, there were 3.6 million births in the U.S. in 2025.