US President Donald Trump has signed two new executive orders aimed at restricting birth tourism and narrowing birthright citizenship after the Supreme Court struck down his earlier effort.
Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Trump said: “We had a very unfortunate decision in the Supreme Court concerning birthright.”
According to CNN, one order targets “alien enemies,” members of foreign terrorist organisations and people acting on behalf of foreign governments.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said children born to people in those categories would no longer qualify for birthright citizenship.
The second order focuses on so-called birth tourism, a practice where people travel to the United States to give birth.
US law already prohibits obtaining a visa primarily for that purpose, although it is unclear how the new order changes existing rules,
The move follows a Supreme Court ruling in June that rejected Trump’s broader attempt to end birthright citizenship for children born to parents who are in the US illegally or temporarily.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote: “Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights — to freely participate in our political community.”
The court reaffirmed that the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to anyone born on US soil, while recognising limited exceptions for children of diplomats and those born during a hostile occupation.
