Trump's 'birth tourism' ban faces legal hurdles after Supreme Court ruling
Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
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- President Trump has signed two executive orders targeting "birth tourism" after the Supreme Court previously rejected his administration's attempt to curtail birthright citizenship.
- Legal experts believe these new orders, which aim to deny citizenship to children of parents engaged in fraudulent activity or suspected of birth tourism, will also face significant legal challenges.
- The orders seek to expand exceptions to birthright citizenship, though scholars are divided on the potential legality of these expansions.
President Donald Trump has again attempted to curb "birth tourism" by signing two executive orders, despite legal experts suggesting these measures are likely to fail. This move follows a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that invalidated his administration's initial effort to restrict birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to non-citizen parents.
These children are citizens based on their birth on US soil.
Legal experts, including University of Virginia law professor Amanda Frost, argue that the Supreme Court's previous decision already addressed the issue. "These children are citizens based on their birth on US soil," Frost stated. "Illegal conduct by their parent can have no bearing on their status." The new orders direct federal agencies to deny citizenship to children if either parent is "engaged in fraudulent activity to obtain citizenship." Another order aims to bar visas for foreigners suspected of birth tourism, though its enforcement remains unclear.
Trump has long sought to tighten birthright citizenship as part of his immigration agenda. His previous sweeping order, targeting immigrants in the country illegally or temporarily on legal visas, was struck down by the Supreme Court. The ruling cited the 14th Amendment's clause conferring citizenship to those born in the United States and "subject to the jurisdiction thereof."
Illegal conduct by their parent can have no bearing on their status.
The new directive also seeks to broaden historical exceptions to automatic birthright citizenship, which currently include children of diplomatic representatives and hostile foreign troops. The proposed expansion would include foreign government employees and individuals deemed foreign terrorists. However, scholars remain divided on whether courts would permit such expansions, with some suggesting that extending categories related to diplomats might be legally permissible.
people are building businesses around” birth tourism, suggesting that “hundreds of thousands” are wrongly benefiting.
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by Dawn in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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