Trump Orders Expand Birthright Citizenship Exceptions to 3 New Categories

The latest executive moves by President Trump directly test the boundaries set by the Supreme Court’s recent affirmation of birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment. By legislating new categories of individuals allegedly not subject to U.S. jurisdiction—including children of alien enemies and secondary foreign personnel—the orders raise fundamental questions about the separation of powers and the executive’s ability to redefine constitutional terms. For legal practitioners and scholars, the orders are not just political rhetoric but a blueprint for a new phase of constitutional litigation over citizenship.

President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on August 6, 2026, that seek to further restrict birthright citizenship and combat birth tourism, just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the longstanding interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause. The orders represent a direct administrative response to a ruling Trump called “very unfortunate,” and they attempt to narrow the scope of who is “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States at birth—a phrase that has anchored birthright citizenship since the Amendment’s ratification in 1868. The first order expands the list of ineligible persons beyond the conventionally recognized exception for children of foreign diplomats. Under the new directive, babies born to “additional foreign government personnel” would not receive automatic citizenship, nor would those whose parent is deemed an “alien enemy”—defined as a member of a foreign terrorist organization. The order also excludes children born in U.S. territories or territorial waters where federal law does not already confer citizenship. This marks a significant departure from the narrow diplomat carve-out that UC Davis law professor Kevin R. Johnson identified as the only accepted exception, and it directly challenges the universal interpretation that any person born on U.S. soil is automatically a citizen. The second order targets birth tourism by empowering the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to disrupt operations that facilitate travel to the United States specifically for the purpose of giving birth. The order accuses companies of coaching clients to misrepresent their travel intent and failing to deliver on promises of citizenship and benefits, framing the practice as a fraud-ridden industry that undermines immigration law.

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President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on August 6, 2026, that seek to further restrict birthright citizenship and combat birth tourism, just weeks after the U.S.

The legal strategy behind these orders is an attempt to operate within the bounds of the Supreme Court’s recent decision. By not directly overturning birthright citizenship but rather defining categories of individuals who are allegedly not subject to U.S. jurisdiction, the administration is testing the limits of executive interpretation. Johnson and other scholars, however, warn that the “subject to the jurisdiction” clause has been consistently read to apply to nearly all individuals physically present, except true foreign officials with diplomatic immunity. Extending this exclusion to secondary government personnel, alleged enemies, or individuals in certain territories invites immediate constitutional scrutiny. The Supreme Court’s decision in June 2026 (referred to in some reports as Trump v. Barbara) reaffirmed that the Citizenship Clause applies broadly, and any executive order that effectively nullifies that right for large groups will almost certainly face litigation.