Trump's new birthright citizenship orders: Who could lose US citizenship?

Trump's new birthright citizenship orders explained: Who could be affected and can he change US law?

US President Donald Trump is once again trying to restrict who automatically becomes an American citizen at birth.

 

This week, his administration issued executive orders aimed at limiting birthright citizenship — the principle that generally gives US citizenship to a child born on American soil, regardless of the parents' immigration status.

 

The move comes after the US Supreme Court rejected an earlier attempt by the Trump administration to broadly restrict birthright citizenship.

 

Trump says the new orders have been adjusted to take the Supreme Court's ruling into account. But immigration lawyers and civil rights groups expect the latest restrictions to face legal challenges as well.

 

Here is what the new orders mean and why they are controversial.

 

What is birthright citizenship?

 

Birthright citizenship means that, under the US Constitution, a child born in the United States is generally considered a US citizen automatically.

 

The principle comes from the 14th Amendment, which says that people born or naturalised in the US and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens of the United States.

 

There are already some limited exceptions.

 

For example, children born in the US to certain foreign diplomats do not automatically receive US citizenship because their parents are not considered to be subject to US jurisdiction in the same way as ordinary residents.

 

Trump's latest orders seek to expand the circumstances in which a child born in the US could be denied automatic citizenship.

 

What is Trump trying to change?

 

The administration's latest orders target several categories of births.

 

They seek to restrict citizenship for children born in the US in situations involving:

 

• Certain foreign diplomatic or government officials
• Employees or representatives of foreign governments
• Employees of the United Nations and other international organisations
• People connected to organisations designated by the US government as terrorist organisations
• Children born through certain surrogacy arrangements involving non-US parents
• Children whose mothers are alleged to have entered the US specifically to give birth and obtain US citizenship for the child

 

The administration argues that these situations fall outside the protection of birthright citizenship.

 

But that interpretation is likely to be challenged in court.

 

What is 'birth tourism'?

 

One of the biggest focuses of the new orders is what the administration calls birth tourism.

 

This refers to foreigners travelling to the US, often on a temporary visa, with the intention of giving birth there so that their child can obtain US citizenship.

 

Importantly, the US already considers it improper to obtain a visa by falsely claiming that the purpose of a trip is something other than giving birth.

 

Trump's order goes further by directing the government to target people who enter the US specifically to give birth.

 

The concern is that immigration officials could have greater discretion to question or deny entry to pregnant women whom they suspect are travelling for this purpose.

 

Critics say the order does not provide sufficiently clear standards for determining when a pregnant traveller should be considered a "birth tourist".

 

How many birth tourists are there?

 

Trump has claimed that the number is in the hundreds of thousands.

 

Immigration researchers say there is not enough evidence to support that figure.

 

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show that nearly 9,600 children were born in the US in 2024 to mothers whose official address was outside the country.

 

Another estimate, from the Centre for Immigration Studies, puts the number of birth tourists at around 20,000 to 26,000 a year.

 

Experts therefore say Trump's "hundreds of thousands" estimate appears substantially higher than the available estimates.

 

What about babies born through surrogacy?

 

Surrogacy is another area that could become complicated.

 

The administration's order raises questions about children born in the US through arrangements involving foreign parents and American surrogates.

 

For example, a child could be born in the US to a surrogate mother while the intended parents are foreign nationals.

 

The question is whether the child should automatically receive US citizenship simply because the birth took place in the United States.

 

Legal experts say the Constitution and existing Supreme Court rulings do not specifically address modern surrogacy arrangements.

 

That could make this another area for courts to decide.

 

What about children of diplomats?

 

This is the area where there is already a clear exception.

 

Children born in the US to certain accredited foreign diplomats generally do not receive US citizenship automatically.

 

The reason is that diplomats enjoy special legal status and are not treated in the same way as ordinary foreign nationals living or travelling in the US.

 

Trump's new orders seek to broaden the category of people whose children could be excluded from birthright citizenship.

 

That expansion is likely to be tested in court.

 

Can Trump change birthright citizenship through an executive order?

 

This is the biggest legal question.

 

The 14th Amendment is part of the US Constitution, which means an executive order cannot simply rewrite it.

 

Trump's administration argues that the Constitution and existing Supreme Court interpretations leave room for the new restrictions.

 

Immigration lawyers and civil rights groups strongly disagree.

 

They argue that birthright citizenship is constitutionally protected and that a president cannot take it away through an executive order.

 

The Supreme Court's earlier decision against Trump's broader attempt to restrict birthright citizenship is therefore likely to be central to the legal battles over the new orders.

 

Why is the Supreme Court involved?

 

Trump previously issued an executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for certain children born to parents who were not US citizens or permanent residents.

 

That order was challenged in court.

 

In June, the Supreme Court ruled against the administration's attempt in that case.

 

Trump has now issued narrower orders, arguing that they address specific categories of people rather than attempting to eliminate birthright citizenship broadly.

 

The administration says it has therefore stayed within the limits set by the court.

 

Civil rights groups argue that the new orders still attempt to do indirectly what the earlier order could not do directly.

 

What happens next?

 

The new restrictions are expected to be challenged in US courts.

 

The key question will be whether the president has the authority to exclude additional categories of children from the 14th Amendment's guarantee of citizenship.

 

If courts block the orders, the administration could appeal the cases, potentially sending the issue back to the Supreme Court.

 

For now, the important distinction is this:

 

Trump has not abolished birthright citizenship in the US. His administration is trying to narrow the circumstances in which it applies, particularly in cases involving birth tourism, foreign-government connections and certain surrogacy arrangements.

 

Whether a president can make those changes without amending the Constitution will ultimately be a question for the US courts.  With inputs from AP