Trump Moves to Restrict Birthright Citizenship in US

U.S. President Donald Trump has issued two executive orders seeking to further restrict access to birthright citizenship in the United States.

The first order seeks to prevent certain children born in the U.S. from automatically obtaining citizenship where their parents are not American citizens.

The measure reportedly targets children of foreign government employees and individuals classified as “alien enemies.”

The second order is aimed at curbing what is commonly described as “birth tourism,” referring to people travelling to the United States primarily to give birth so their children can obtain U.S. citizenship.

Executive orders allow the president to direct federal policy and executive agencies, but they remain subject to legal and constitutional challenges.

At the beginning of his second term, Trump issued an earlier executive order seeking to significantly limit birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents who were temporarily in the country or lacked lawful immigration status.

The policy faced legal challenges and was subsequently contested in the U.S. Supreme Court.

In June, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge related to Trump’s birthright citizenship order, while reaffirming the constitutional significance of the 14th Amendment, which has historically been interpreted to grant citizenship to people born in the United States.

The amendment, ratified in 1868, provides that persons born or naturalised in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens of the country.

Trump’s latest moves are expected to face further legal scrutiny as the administration seeks to reshape the long-standing interpretation and application of birthright citizenship.