Trump defies Supreme Court on birthright citizenship with new executive orders
After losing Trump v. Barbara in June, the administration issues two orders trying to narrow citizenship rights through expansive readings of constitutional exceptions.
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Summary, timeline and people extracted by Claude from 6 items across 4 sources · 9h ago. Quotes are verbatim.
President Trump issued two executive orders last week attempting to restrict birthright citizenship despite a Supreme Court defeat on the issue in late June. The first order, "Continuing to Protect the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship," expands exceptions to the 14th Amendment by targeting children of designated terrorists, foreign officials, and foreign nonprofits. The second addresses "birth tourism," a practice Trump claims affects hundreds of thousands despite his own Solicitor General admitting no reliable data exists.
- Trump issued two new executive orders on citizenship after losing Trump v. Barbara in June, attempting to circumvent the Supreme Court ruling through alternative legal theories.
- The first order expands exceptions to 14th Amendment birthright citizenship to include children of terrorists, foreign officials, and workers for foreign nonprofits—stretching traditional diplomatic immunity exceptions.
- The second order targets birth tourism despite Solicitor General Sauer admitting no reliable data supports claims of hundreds of thousands of such cases.
- Slate attributes the administration's ability to persist to Justice Kavanaugh's decision-making, which the outlet argues avoided giving the administration an overwhelming legal defeat.
How it unfolded
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Slate reports that Trump's continued defiance of the Supreme Court ruling traces back to Justice Brett Kavanaugh's decision in Trump v. Barbara, which Slate argues opened a door for the administration to pursue alternative legal theories rather than receiving an overwhelming defeat.
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The American Civil Liberties Union states that the new executive order cannot alter constitutional meaning, asserting birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Constitution.
“Birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Constitution. No additional executive order can change the meaning of the Constitution.”
American Civil Liberties Union · Google News ↗ -
Trump signed two new executive orders: "Continuing to Protect the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship," which expands exceptions to birthright citizenship to include children of designated terrorists, foreign officials, and workers for foreign nonprofits; and "Ending Birth Tourism," targeting the practice of foreigners entering the U.S. to have children.
- 5 weeks quiet
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In Trump v. Barbara, the Supreme Court struck down Trump's first executive order on birthright citizenship, signed on his first day in office, titled "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship."
What people are saying verbatim
“Birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Constitution. No additional executive order can change the meaning of the Constitution.”
American Civil Liberties Union, Civil rights organization · Slate ↗
“Despite losing at the Supreme Court on the legal issue in late June, the Trump administration remains committed to twisting a long-settled constitutional question into a tool to keep Black and brown people out of American life.”
Slate, News outlet · Slate ↗ · Aug 10
“The only exceptions to this rule that have ever been consistently recognized are for people technically born within the country's borders but under the legal authority of a separate sovereign, such as children of foreign diplomats.”
Slate, News outlet · Slate ↗ · Aug 10
“no one knows”
John Sauer, Solicitor General · Slate ↗ · Aug 10
Voices from the web unedited
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How Brett Kavanaugh paved the way for Trump’s brazen Supreme Court defiance #AlterNet
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Kavanaugh's concurrence in Barbara, and now these new executive orders, is also a symptom of a court that operates in a lopsided manner that favors the administration.