In late June, the Supreme Court finally issued their ruling on Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 14th Amendment via executive order. In 2024, Trump “ran” on ending birthright citizenship and overturning the 14th Amendment. When he came back into office, he used an EO to try to limit citizenship to only babies born with at least one American-citizen parent. That was the EO overturned by SCOTUS just five weeks ago. Well, guess who’s at it again?

President Trump signed two executive orders Thursday seeking to narrow birthright citizenship in several circumstances and intensify the federal crackdown on commercial “birth tourism.” Trump also is seeking to deny birthright citizenship for children born of some foreign diplomatic staff in the U.S. and, potentially, U.S. territories in the future.

It’s Trump’s second attempt to curb birthright citizenship in the U.S. and is sure to be challenged in court as a violation of the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to nearly everyone born in America. The U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 shot down a broader executive order Trump signed on Inauguration Day to deny automatic citizenship to those born of noncitizens in the U.S.

Trump’s administration argues that the ruling still grants him the authority to limit birthright citizenship under long-standing exceptions recognized by the court. The executive orders apply only to future births tied to four categories:

*Children born of foreign diplomatic staff working on behalf of another government while in the U.S. The 14th Amendment doesn’t confer automatic citizenship to ambassadors’ families, and this order would expand that category to other noncitizen employees.

*Children of people who are classified as alien enemies, including those who belong to federally declared terrorist groups. The 14th Amendment doesn’t apply to invading armies, and this designation would expand that category.

*Those born in U.S. territories — but only if Congress changes the law to end automatic citizenship there. A bill seeking to do that was introduced last month but isn’t expected to pass. This would apply most notably to those in Puerto Rico.

*Children born of mothers who expressly and deceptively enter the U.S. for the sole purpose of having a child here, namely at a birth-tourism center. The order seeks to limit the use of surrogate mothers for this purpose as well.

The administration argues that creating this birth-tourism exception is permitted because of parents’ fraudulent misrepresentation in gaining access to the U.S., typically as tourists or workers. The government can revoke the citizenship of those naturalized by fraud. The new order says this exception now applies to a mother if she deceptively engages in the commercial practice of birth tourism, officials say. A second executive order directs the secretary of state and the Department of Homeland Security secretary to issue rules and guidance to stop birth tourism and target the industry at home and abroad.

U.S. law already bans getting a tourist visa “for the primary purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship for a child by giving birth in the United States.” Immigration officials also can deny a pregnant foreign national from entering the U.S. if they determine she’s entering the country for the purpose of giving birth.

Estimates about the number of children who’ve been the result of birth tourism range from the low thousands to the tens of thousands.

[From Axios]

It’s not that I want to actually play along with this monstrous BS, but I would love to know the actual breakdown of what the Trump administration is calling “birth tourism.” I’m sure there are documented cases of expectant parents flying to the US specifically so their kid can be an American citizen. But I strongly suspect that many of these “birth tourism” cases are actually just foreign nationals here on work visas, living their lives and having families. As Axios says, “Estimates about the number of children who’ve been the result of birth tourism range from the low thousands to the tens of thousands…” Even if the number of “birth tourism babies” is something like 10,000 annually (which I believe is a vast overestimate), that’s still a drop in the bucket overall! They’re trying to destroy the 14th Amendment to “fix” a problem which barely exists.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.