Trump signs executive orders targeting birth tourism, birthright citizenship

By Sarah Roderick-Fitch
The Center Square

Following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned President Donald Trump’s executive order banning birthright citizenship, the president is taking another stab at curbing the practice through a pair of executive orders.

Trump signed the latest executive orders Thursday afternoon, targeting birth tourism, diplomats, and enemies of the U.S. from taking advantage of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

The president has been critical of birthright citizenship and birth tourism, arguing that the amendment was meant to ensure children born of enslaved people were entitled to citizenship, not bad actors who enter the U.S. illegally or purposefully to have a child here.

“They promise citizenship; access to public benefits; and short-term stays in specialized facilities, hotels, or rentals, but often fail to deliver on these promises. These operators coach their clients to misrepresent the purpose and duration of their travel to consular and border officials to obtain visas authorizing entry into the United States,” according to the order.

The order describes the practice as “schemes,” which has produced “thriving industries around the world that profit by enabling the evasion of American immigration law to obtain citizenship and other immigration benefits.”

The latest order targets babies born to “either parent of that person [who] is an alien enemy,” born to a parent employed by a foreign government (including ambassadors, embassy or consulate employees and people employed by an international organization “that possess international-organization immunity”), and parents “engaged in a commercial transaction to purchase or access birthright citizenship for the person, or engaged in fraudulent activity to obtain citizenship.” The order also extends to babies born in a territory or territorial waters “where citizenship is not conferred by federal statute.”

The second order gives presidential authorities to the secretary of State and the secretary of Homeland Security to combat birth tourism.

Trump described June’s SCOTUS ruling, Trump v. Barbara, as “a very unfortunate decision,” adding that his administration is “making adjustments” to curb the practice.