Two Aug. 6 executive orders recast Trump’s birthright push after the Supreme Court’s 6-3 June ruling, targeting children of some noncitizen parents tied to terrorist groups, foreign governments or alleged citizenship fraud, and separately tightening action on birth tourism.
Conservative legal advocates say the citizenship order is narrower than Trump’s earlier effort because it leans on longstanding exceptions for diplomats and enemy forces recognized in the 1898 Wong Kim Ark decision.
Critics from Cato and the University of Virginia argue the order still likely violates the 14th Amendment, saying only Congress can define who falls outside U.S. jurisdiction and that the 'enemy' exception applies to hostile occupation, not terrorists residing in the country.
The order remains in force but is not due to take effect until Sept. 6, with the same groups that challenged Trump’s first order now seeking injunctions in Maryland and New Hampshire while lawyers also debate who has standing to sue.
Trump’s separate birth-tourism order may face a different fight: supporters call visa denials and removals well within executive authority, while opponents say State Department rules since 2020 already allowed officials to deny such visas.