United States President Donald Trump has signed two new executive orders aimed at restricting birthright citizenship for certain children born in the United States, including children of foreigners allegedly travelling to the country for the purpose of giving birth on American soil.
The orders, signed on Thursday, come about five weeks after the US Supreme Court ruled against Trump’s earlier attempt to deny citizenship to children of non-citizens, a right long associated with the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified in 1868.
One of the new orders directs federal agencies to bar the entry of foreigners allegedly coming to the United States primarily to give birth and secure American citizenship for their children, a practice commonly referred to as birth tourism.
The order reportedly does not spell out exactly how immigration authorities will determine whether a pregnant traveller is entering the country for that purpose.
It directs the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security to update their rules and take enforcement steps against persons suspected of misusing non-immigrant visas for birth tourism.
Under the order, officials may deny visas, revoke travel authorisations, prevent entry, remove persons previously involved in birth tourism and take action against individuals, businesses or organisations accused of facilitating such arrangements.
The order also permits exemptions on humanitarian grounds or where entry is considered to be in the national interest.
The second order seeks to deny recognition of US citizenship to children born to certain categories of non-citizen parents.
Those categories include children born to parents classified as “alien enemies,” including members of designated foreign terrorist organisations or specially designated global terrorists.
It also covers children of foreign government employees, including ambassadors, embassy and consular staff who are nationals of the foreign country, and persons employed by a foreign government in an official capacity.
Employees of international organisations who enjoy international-organisation immunity are also listed under the order.
The order further targets children whose parents allegedly engaged in commercial transactions or fraudulent activity to purchase or access birthright citizenship, including through birth tourism or commercial surrogacy arrangements involving a surrogate present in the United States.
Children of foreign ambassadors have long been excluded from automatic birthright citizenship under existing practice.
The second order also denies citizenship to children of non-citizens born in US territories or territorial waters where citizenship is not conferred by federal statute.
Trump claimed that birth tourism is practised by “hundreds of thousands” of people, although estimates cited in reports suggest lower figures, with one estimate placing annual birth tourism numbers at between 22,000 and 26,000 babies born on US soil, while government data showed about 9,600 births to mothers with foreign addresses in 2024.
The new orders are expected to trigger fresh legal challenges and political debate over the scope of presidential power, immigration enforcement and the constitutional guarantee of citizenship for persons born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction.
The post “Trump Orders Crackdown On Birth Tourism” — New Executive Orders Seek To Deny Citizenship To Children Of Some Non-Citizens Born In US appeared first on TheNigeriaLawyer.