Trump Issues Two New ‘Birthright Citizenship’ Orders

On August 6, the White House issued a “fact sheet”, “President Donald J. Trump Ends Birth Tourism and Protects the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship”, announcing two new executive orders (EOs): one “non-exhaustively identifying certain categories of children of aliens. . . not entitled to birthright citizenship ... consistent with” Supreme Court precedent; and the other “to halt the practice of birth tourism”. To paraphrase Antony in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: “Cry ‘Havoc!’ and let slip the dogs of law”

'Continuing to Protect the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship'

The first EO, “Continuing to Protect the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship”, is a take on EO 14160, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship", which was struck down by the Supreme Court on a 6-3 (or 5-4, depending on your take on Justice Kavanaugh’s concurrence) vote by the Supreme Court in Trump v. Barbara.

EO 14160 declared that certain “categories of individuals will no longer be considered to be born ‘subject to the jurisdiction’ of the United States and therefore will no longer be U.S. citizens at birth” under the first section of the 14th Amendment.

Those categories were children born to mothers “unlawfully present” or whose presence was “lawful but temporary” (i.e., “nonimmigrants”) and fathers who weren’t either U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents (i.e., “green card holders”).