President Donald Trump has signed executive orders targeting birthright citizenship and so-called “birth tourism,” according to reports by The New York Times and other outlets. The actions seek to limit the circumstances under which children born in the United States would automatically receive U.S. citizenship, particularly when their parents are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.
Birthright citizenship is generally associated with the Fourteenth Amendment, which provides citizenship to people born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction. The executive orders therefore address a longstanding interpretation of constitutional and immigration law, and their implementation is expected to raise questions about the scope of presidential authority and the legal protections surrounding citizenship at birth.
“Birth tourism” refers to travel to the United States by people who give birth there, with the child’s citizenship among the potential reasons for the trip. The orders represent another effort by Trump to restrict birthright citizenship through executive action, a move likely to draw legal challenges and renewed debate over immigration policy, constitutional interpretation and the meaning of citizenship.