New Executive Orders Violate SCOTUS Decision on Birthright Citizenship, WRC Analysis Finds 

The orders put pregnant women and immigrant families at risk, giving officials broad power to deny entry to pregnant travelers and delay citizenship documents for US-born children.

WASHINGTON, DC — On August 6, 2026, the Trump administration issued two executive orders (EOs) that attempt to restrict birthright citizenship for US-born children of certain immigrant parents. A new Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) analysis finds both orders directly contravene the Constitution and multiple Supreme Court decisions, including in Trump v. Barbara, which reaffirmed that all children born on US soil are citizens by virtue of being born here, irrespective of their parents’ immigration status. These EOs violate the Supreme Court’s decision by restricting citizenship to US-born children of immigrant parents, beyond what is permitted by law. 

This analysis builds on WRC’s July 2026 issue brief on Trump v. Barbara, which documented the barriers pregnant immigrant women already face in securing citizenship for their children and warned that meaningful access to citizenship depends on more than the Court’s ruling alone. 

Executive Order 14409: Denying Pregnant Women Entry Based on Suspicion Alone 

EO 14409 (Ending Birth Tourism) gives immigration and consular officials broad, undefined power over any woman they suspect might be pregnant and traveling to the US to give birth. Officials can deny her entry, remove her, or deny or revoke her visa. This is not limited to land border crossings; it applies to visa issuance and every US port of entry, including airports. 

• There are no criteria for making these determinations. The order gives officials no guidance for deciding who counts as a “birth tourist,” no standard for determining whether someone is or might become pregnant, and no process to appeal a denied or revoked visa or a denial of entry. 

• “Birth tourism” itself is poorly defined. The order also targets anyone who “facilitates” another person’s entry for this purpose, but never defines what facilitation means or who could be considered responsible for it. 

• Women with valid visas and legitimate reasons to travel could be turned away. Many pregnant women arriving with legal visas, or eligible for visas for other important purposes, could be denied entry or removed based on suspicion alone, leaving them in a precarious and vulnerable situation. 

Executive Order 14418: Denying Citizenship Documents to US-Born Children 

EO 14418 (Continuing to Protect the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship) expands the exceptions to birthright citizenship for US-born children of immigrant parents by creating new categories of exclusion and by expanding the existing statutory categories to encompass more immigrant parents. 

• It creates new categories of exclusion that violate multiple SCOTUS decisions. Trump v. Barbara held that the exceptions to birthright citizenship are a “closed set” the executive branch cannot expand or rewrite. 

• Many of the new categories are vague and unworkable. One new category, “alien enemy,” is a label courts have already found unlawful and has no clear definition or standards. Another category, covering anyone “employed by a foreign government in any capacity,” could sweep in administrative and janitorial staff who hold no diplomatic immunity at all. 

• It doesn’t distinguish between types of immigrants. Unlike the administration’s earlier version of this order, this one contains no language excluding legal permanent residents (“green card holders”) or other lawful, long-term US immigrants. 

• Even children who are still citizens under the law could be denied the documents that prove it. Birth certificates and passports are what parents use to enroll their kids in school, get them medical care, and — if a parent is detained or deported — reunify with their children or arrange safe legal guardianship for those left behind.