United States President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order banning what his administration describes as ‘birth tourism.’
The development marks a fresh attempt to narrow access to birthright citizenship despite a recent Supreme Court ruling that blocked his broader effort to end automatic citizenship for many children born in the United States.
Trump signed the executive order on Thursday, with the White House arguing that the measure targets pregnant foreign nationals who travel to the U.S. primarily to give birth so their children can obtain American citizenship.
The move comes just over a month after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship through executive action, ruling that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present are protected under the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump criticised the Supreme Court’s ruling, describing it as a “very unfortunate decision” and accusing people of building businesses around birth tourism.
“That’s not the way it’s supposed to work. It’s a disgrace. They’re buying their way in, and we’re not going to let it happen,” Trump said.
White House aide Stephen Miller said the administration was formally ending the practice through the new executive order.
Miller said birth tourism had been banned with the signing of the order, according to remarks made during the Oval Office ceremony.
