Birthright Citizenship After the Supreme Court Decision: What the New Executive Orders Mean

On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important decision protecting birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court held that children born in the United States to parents who are undocumented or temporarily present in the country are U.S. citizens at birth.

The 6-3 decision in Trump v. Barbara rejected President Trump’s January 2025 executive order, which had attempted to deny birthright citizenship to many children based on their parents’ immigration status. The Supreme Court confirmed that a child born in the United States is generally “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and therefore a citizen under the Fourteenth Amendment, regardless of whether the child’s parents are undocumented, hold temporary immigration status, or are otherwise temporarily present in the country.

The Administration Issues Two New Executive Orders

On August 6, 2026, President Trump issued two new executive orders addressing birthright citizenship and travel to the United States for the purpose of giving birth.

The first order, Continuing to Protect the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship, seeks to establish additional circumstances in which the federal government will not recognize a person born in the United States as a U.S. citizen.

The second, Ending Birth Tourism, focuses on the immigration consequences for foreign nationals who enter or attempt to enter the United States on nonimmigrant visas for the purpose of giving birth in the United States.

Together, the orders represent a significantly narrower approach than the January 2025 executive order rejected by the Supreme Court, but they raise new legal and practical questions for some families and travelers.

New Restrictions on Recognition of Citizenship

The new citizenship order does not attempt to deny citizenship generally to children of undocumented immigrants or individuals temporarily in the United States.

Instead, it directs federal agencies not to recognize U.S. citizenship when neither parent is a U.S. citizen and certain additional circumstances exist. These include situations involving:

• A parent classified as an “alien enemy,” including certain individuals associated with designated terrorist organizations
• Certain foreign government employees, including ambassadors, embassy or consular employees, and others employed by foreign governments in an official capacity
• A parent whom the government determines engaged in a commercial transaction or fraud to obtain U.S. citizenship for a child through birth in the United States
• Certain commercial surrogacy arrangements involving a surrogate in the United States
• Birth in certain U.S. territories where citizenship is not otherwise granted by federal law

The order directs federal agencies to issue guidance explaining how these restrictions will be implemented.

A Separate Executive Order Targets “Birth Tourism”

The second executive order does not primarily address whether a child born in the United States is a citizen. Instead, it focuses on the immigration status and conduct of foreign nationals who travel to the United States for the purpose of giving birth.

The order defines “birth tourism” as entering the United States on a nonimmigrant visa for the purpose of giving birth in the United States. It also includes efforts to help another foreign national enter the United States for that purpose.

The order directs the Departments of State and Homeland Security to take steps to prevent birth tourism. Depending on how the order is implemented, those actions may include denying or revoking visas or other travel documents, denying admission to the United States, removing individuals from the United States, or taking action against individuals or organizations that facilitate birth tourism.

Significantly, the order also authorizes the agencies to consider permanently barring entry for individuals determined to have entered or attempted to enter the United States for the purpose of birth tourism. Humanitarian and national-interest exceptions are permitted under the order.

Additional agency guidance will be important in understanding how these provisions will be applied in practice.

What Did the Supreme Court Actually Decide?

The Supreme Court’s decision remains important when evaluating these new executive orders.

In Trump v. Barbara, the Court reaffirmed that the exceptions to birthright citizenship are narrow. At the same time, the Court made clear that people do not fall outside U.S. jurisdiction simply because they are undocumented or temporarily present in the United States.

As a result, the immigration status of a child’s parents, by itself, does not prevent a child born in the United States from acquiring U.S. citizenship at birth.

The new citizenship order relies on the Supreme Court’s discussion of historically recognized exceptions to birthright citizenship but seeks to apply that reasoning to several specific categories. The scope and legality of those restrictions are likely to continue to be the subject of litigation.

The birth-tourism order raises somewhat different issues because it seeks to regulate who may receive a visa or enter the United States and for what purpose, rather than relying solely on the government’s authority to determine who acquires citizenship at birth.

What Does This Mean for Families and Travelers?

For the overwhelming majority of families, the fundamental rule remains unchanged: a child born in the United States is a U.S. citizen regardless of whether the child’s parents are undocumented, hold temporary visas, or otherwise lack permanent immigration status.

The new executive orders do not reinstate the broad restrictions rejected by the Supreme Court.

However, individuals traveling to the United States while pregnant may face increased scrutiny at U.S. consulates and ports of entry, particularly when traveling on a visitor or other nonimmigrant visa. The new birth-tourism order makes the traveler’s purpose particularly important and creates potentially serious consequences if the government concludes that the purpose of the trip is to give birth in the United States.

Being pregnant, by itself, is not the same as engaging in “birth tourism.” Individuals may have many legitimate reasons to travel to the United States while pregnant. Nevertheless, pregnant travelers should be prepared for additional questions about the purpose and duration of their travel and should be especially careful to provide accurate and complete information when applying for a visa or seeking admission to the United States.

Families who believe either of the new executive orders could affect them should speak with an immigration attorney before making decisions about international travel, visa applications, or the citizenship documentation of a child born in the United States.

At Delgado Rompf Bruen LLC, we will continue monitoring implementation of these executive orders, additional agency guidance, and legal challenges to the new restrictions. If you have questions about birthright citizenship or how these developments may affect your family, please contact our office to schedule a consultation.