Trump signs decree against birthright citizenship tourism

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday aimed at ending "birth tourism," a practice where foreign nationals travel to the United States to give birth and obtain U.S. citizenship for their children.

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What we have seen in recent years are organized criminal networks that establish a system whereby tens of thousands of people can come to this country in an organized manner and give birth here solely for the purpose of obtaining citizenship by right of birth.

Trump stated that organized criminal networks facilitate this practice, bringing tens of thousands of people to the U.S. solely for the purpose of acquiring citizenship by birthright. The new decree focuses on denying visas to individuals believed to be coming for this reason, including parents and organizers of these networks.

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This decree takes a series of measures aimed at combating these types of organized practices. We are focusing heavily on denying visas to people whom we have reason to believe are coming for that purpose. Visas for both the parents who participate, and for the people who organize these networks.

This action follows a recent Supreme Court decision that struck down a previous attempt to deny birthright citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants. Trump described the new decree as an "adjustment" to this right. The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified after the Civil War, explicitly grants citizenship to those born on U.S. soil.

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The children born in the United States to parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily are 'subject to the jurisdiction' of the United States and are citizens from birth.

Critics argue that the decree is unconstitutional, while supporters, like Stephen Miller, a close Trump advisor, claim it will prevent a significant number of individuals from wrongly obtaining birthright citizenship. Miller added that the decree would deny citizenship to children of "foreign terrorist organizations" and those acting on behalf of foreign governments. The measure is part of Trump's broader immigration restriction campaign.

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The presidential measure will deny birthright citizenship to children of 'foreign terrorist organizations,' as well as 'broad categories of people who lobby and act on behalf of foreign governments.'