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Trump signs 2 immigration actions to curb 'birth tourism,' limit birthright citizenship
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− National Trump signs new orders targeting birthright citizenship, weeks after SCOTUS ruling August 6, 20266:06 PM ET Juliana Kim
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Aug.
+ National Trump signs new orders targeting birthright citizenship, weeks after Supreme Court ruling Updated August 7, 20266:48 PM ET Originally published August 6, 20266:06 PM ET Juliana Kim
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Aug.
− Alex Brandon/AP hide caption
President Trump is once again attempting to put restrictions on who is automatically guaranteed citizenship after being born in the U.S., just weeks after the Supreme Court struck down his attempt to end birthright citizenship.
+ Alex Brandon/AP hide caption
President Trump is once again attempting to put restrictions on who is automatically guaranteed citizenship after being born in the U.S., just weeks after the Supreme Court ruled the president's attempt to end birthright citizenship was unconstitutional.
− On Thursday, the president signed two executive orders, this time taking a more narrow focus on so-called "birth tourism."
The NPR Politics Podcast Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship The first order aims to exclude babies born to members of foreign terrorist groups or employees working for foreign governments, such as ambassadors.
The second order removes automatic citizenship for babies whose parents engaged in "birth tourism." This is an issue that Trump has raised for years, and the term refers to when pregnant foreigners visit the U.S.
+ On Thursday, Trump signed two executive orders on birthright citizenship and so-called "birth tourism."
The first order, titled "Continuing to Protect the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship," aims to exclude babies born to employees working for foreign governments, such as embassy or consulate staff who are foreign nationals.
− in order to give birth, so that their newborn can obtain American citizenship.
Senior White House adviser Stephen Miller was at the Oval Office when the executive orders were announced, calling the crackdown on the practice one of the most important actions that Trump has taken when it comes to immigration.
"It ends what has been one of the gravest and most egregious abuses of the American system, and it keeps American citizenship sacred," he said.
Trump tried to restrict birthright citizenship last year through an executive order signed on his first day in office.
+ Also excluded are children of members of foreign terrorist groups and whose parents are "engaged in fraudulent activity to obtain citizenship."
The NPR Politics Podcast Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship Over the years, the Department of Justice has prosecuted businesses that charge for "birth tourism" services.
− That one targeted babies born to parents in the U.S.
+ The term refers to the controversial practice of pregnant women who misrepresent their reason for traveling to the U.S.
− illegally or on temporary visas.
+ in order to give birth in the country so that their newborn can receive automatic citizenship.
− The order was quickly challenged in the courts and this June, the Supreme Court struck it down, reaffirming that birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.
National Some critics of birthright citizenship say it's a fraud issue.
+ The scale of birth tourism remains unclear.
− What does that mean?
+ Fewer than 10,000 babies were born in the U.S.
− David Bier, an immigration policy analyst with the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, said that he expects a swift response in the courts.
+ to foreign residents in 2024, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. Meanwhile, the Center for Immigration Studies — a group that supports restricting immigration — estimates that temporary visitors gave birth to about 70,000 babies in 2023.
− "This is a situation where you would hope that the Supreme Court would step in very quickly to enforce its prior decision," he said.
+ Both estimates suggest that tourist births make up less than 2% of the 3.6 million babies born in the U.S. every year.
− The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
+ The second executive order, Ending Birth Tourism, directs the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to prioritize the issue by denying visas to anyone suspected of engaging in the practice.
− Over the years, there have been some crackdowns on covert, lucrative businesses coaching travelers on how to conceal their pregnancies from immigration authorities. But the actual scale of the practice is unclear.
+ Senior White House adviser Stephen Miller touted the crackdown as one of the most important immigration reforms that Trump has taken.
− The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in 2024, fewer than 10,000 babies were born in the U.S.
+ "It ends what has been one of the gravest and most egregious abuses of the American system, and it keeps American citizenship sacred," he said Thursday during the Oval Office signing.
Last year, on the first day of his second term, Trump issued an executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for babies born to parents who were in the U.S.
− to foreign residents.
+ illegally or on temporary visas.
− Meanwhile, the Center for Immigration Studies — a group that supports restricting immigration — estimates that temporary visitors gave birth to about 70,000 babies in 2023.
+ This June, the Supreme Court struck down the order, reaffirming that birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.
− Both estimates suggest that tourist births make up a small fraction of the 3.6 million babies born in the U.S.
+ The American Civil Liberties Union, which argued for birthright citizenship in the recent case before the Supreme Court, rejected the Trump administration's fresh efforts to curb the constitutional guarantee.
"Any executive order that tries to rewrite birthright citizenship will meet the same fate as the last one," Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, said in a statement.
National Some critics of birthright citizenship say it's a fraud issue.
− every year.
+ What does that mean? David Bier, an immigration policy analyst with the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, said the executive orders were "blatantly ignoring the Supreme Court's decision."
"This is a situation where you would hope that the Supreme Court would step in very quickly to enforce its prior decision," he added.
+ White House staff secretary Will Scharf said Thursday that the administration is taking "legally validated means."
"There's absolutely nothing in here that runs afoul of any of the Supreme Court's opinions on the subject," he said.