Rights Groups Sue Trump Over 2 New Birthright Citizenship Orders
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · Aug 11
Rights Groups Sue Trump Over 2 New Birthright Citizenship Orders
3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Aug 11
Summary
A federal lawsuit filed in New Hampshire seeks to block two executive orders Trump signed days earlier to narrow automatic US citizenship for some babies born in the country.
The orders would expand existing 14th Amendment exceptions beyond children of diplomats or invading forces, and direct agencies to curb so-called birth tourism and deny citizenship documents in targeted cases.
The ACLU, Legal Defense Fund, Asian Law Caucus and others argue the Supreme Court’s 6-3 June ruling already barred Trump from redefining birthright citizenship by executive action.
The administration let a late-July deadline pass to ask the high court to revisit that ruling, but allies still see an opening because Justice Brett Kavanaugh rejected calling the earlier effort unconstitutional.
The renewed push lands ahead of November’s midterm elections, with Republicans elevating birthright citizenship as a rallying issue despite polls showing broad support for the practice.
Will class-action lawsuits successfully shield birthright citizenship from recent executive limits on immigration enforcement?
Can new executive actions legally bypass the Supreme Court to redefine the 14th Amendment's citizenship guarantee?
The 2026 Birthright Citizenship Battle: Trump’s Executive Orders, Supreme Court Defiance, and the Constitutional Crisis Ahead
Overview
After President Trump’s sweeping 2025 executive order to end birthright citizenship was blocked by the courts and struck down by the Supreme Court, he issued two narrower executive orders in August 2026 targeting specific groups and 'birth tourism.' This sparked immediate legal challenges from civil rights groups and caused widespread anxiety among immigrant families, with some pregnant women rushing to give birth before the new rules could take effect. The administration’s focus on travelers’ intent led to tougher visa scrutiny, straining diplomatic ties with countries like China and India and discouraging skilled professionals from coming to the U.S. Meanwhile, Congress and the public remained deeply divided, making any constitutional change unlikely.