Trump signs executive orders imposing new limits on birthright citizenship

President Donald Trump is once again attempting to restrict birthright citizenship, signing two executive orders on immigration. One order aims to limit the number of individuals eligible for U.S. citizenship by birth within the country. The second order targets "birth tourism," increasing restrictions for visitors who intend to give birth while in the United States.

Trump stated his belief that these new actions would be constitutional, despite a previous attempt being rejected by the Supreme Court in June. That ruling upheld a broad interpretation of birthright citizenship, which grants automatic citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. Trump's prior executive order on the matter, signed on his first day in office for his second term, was blocked by lower courts and never took effect. The Supreme Court's 6-3 vote against his previous order concerned many immigration advocates who viewed birthright citizenship as a settled legal issue.

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They’ve taken birthright citizenship and they’ve made a joke out of it.

The president's administration had argued that children born to individuals in the U.S. illegally or temporarily were not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the country, thus not covered by the 14th Amendment. This amendment, ratified after the Civil War, grants citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction. The Supreme Court's majority opinion, however, affirmed a wide scope for this clause.

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We’re making adjustments because it’s very unfair.