Trump issues new executive orders aimed at birthright citizenship

President Trump has signed two new executive orders in an effort to deny citizenship to certain children born in the United States, following the Supreme Court's rejection of his earlier executive order on birthright citizenship.

"We had a very unfortunate decision in the Supreme Court concerning birthright, it was close," Mr. Trump stated during a signing ceremony in the Oval Office. "So we're making adjustments." The president expressed his view that the Supreme Court's decision was "very, very unfortunate."

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We had a very unfortunate decision in the Supreme Court concerning birthright, it was close. But a very, very unfortunate decision. So we're making adjustments.

According to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, one of the orders targets commercial "birth tourism." This practice involves foreign nationals entering the U.S. primarily to give birth, thereby securing automatic U.S. citizenship for their child. Miller described this as a "broken system" that grants access to welfare benefits and voting rights. The second order expands the categories of individuals deemed ineligible for birthright citizenship, including children of foreign citizens who lobby on behalf of foreign governments.

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This has been something that people have talked about, not only for years, but for decades. The idea that people come here pretending to be a tourist, pretending to be a visitor, saying they want to go to Disneyland or they want to go visit a monument or go to a national park, but the real reason they're here is to have a child, to make that child an automatic citizen, leave our country, and then have a U.S. citizen child. It gives them access, under this broken system, to welfare benefits, ultimately to the voting booth, and all the other rights and privileges that belong solely to Americans.

The White House has not yet released the full text of these executive orders. Mr. Trump has frequently voiced his opposition to the current interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which states that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens." He has argued that the amendment was intended specifically to address the status of slaves after the Civil War.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 against Trump's initial executive order, deeming it unlawful and inconsistent with the 14th Amendment. When asked if he believed the new executive orders would withstand legal scrutiny, President Trump responded, "I think it will."

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This was done right after the Civil War. This was for the babies of slaves.