Donald Trump birthright citizenship executive orders now target a narrower set of cases after the Supreme Court’s June ruling. Trump signed two new orders, including one on Aug. 6, as he renewed the fight over who qualifies for citizenship at birth under the 14th Amendment.
The Aug. 6 order directs federal agencies to withhold documents recognizing citizenship from certain children born when neither parent is a U.S. citizen. It covers some children whose parents are members of designated foreign terrorist organizations, foreign-government employees, or participants in transactions or fraud intended to obtain birthright citizenship.
Chad Mizelle, an America First Policy Institute senior fellow and former Justice Department chief of staff, said the legal theory rests on older exceptions. He said, "The Supreme Court has long recognized that there are exceptions to the 14th Amendment's birthright citizenship clause for the aliens who are considered children of invading armies or the children of ambassadors".
Supreme Court June ruling
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in June that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present are citizens at birth under the 14th Amendment. The earlier ruling narrowed the first version of Trump’s effort, and the new orders are written more tightly around that decision.
Conservative legal experts from the Manhattan Institute, America First Legal and the America First Policy Institute argued that Trump’s new order is narrower than his first. United States v. Wong Kim Ark, decided in 1898, recognized exceptions to birthright citizenship for children of diplomats and children of alien enemies born during a hostile occupation.
Olga Urbina at the Court
Olga Urbina was pictured outside the Supreme Court on May 15, 2025, protesting with her 9-month-old son, Ares Webster, as the birthright citizenship fight played out in Washington D.C. The new orders keep that dispute alive for families and for agencies that would handle citizenship documents under the Aug. 6 directive.
Mizelle also said Trump’s order argues that members of foreign terrorist organizations can fall within the enemy exception. He said, "So in a situation where you have a terrorist here contrary to the laws of the United States … who is looking to do harm … That has long been recognized by the Supreme Court, and basically going back to the history of our country, as recognized exceptions to any sort of claim of birthright citizenship."
United States v. Wong Kim Ark
The next step is a legal challenge over whether that narrower reading fits within the exceptions recognized in Wong Kim Ark and later cases. If the courts accept that argument, the order could stand on a different footing than Trump’s earlier effort and reshape which federal citizenship documents are issued in the cases the order reaches.
