Trump order directs agencies not to recognize citizenship for some U.S.-born children of noncitizen parents

President Donald Trump on Thursday issued a new executive order directing federal agencies not to issue or accept documents recognizing U.S. citizenship for some people born in the United States when neither parent is a U.S. citizen and one of four specified conditions applies.

The White House published the order, titled “Continuing to Protect the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” on Aug. 6, 2026. It comes just over a month after the Supreme Court said children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment.

The order says: “It is the policy of the United States that no executive department or agency shall issue documents recognizing United States citizenship to, or accept documents issued by State, local, or other governments or authorities purporting to recognize United States citizenship regarding, persons when neither parent of that person is a citizen and any of the following applies:”

It then lists four categories. They cover cases in which a parent is an “alien enemy,” including a member of a designated foreign terrorist organization or specially designated global terrorist; a parent is a foreign government employee, including diplomats, some embassy or consular staff and certain international organization employees with immunity; a parent engaged in a commercial transaction or fraud to obtain citizenship, including surrogacy or birth tourism purchases; or the person was born in a territory or territorial waters where citizenship is not conferred by federal statute.

The order does not amend the Constitution or federal citizenship statutes. Instead, it directs the executive branch to change how agencies recognize and document citizenship in those cases.

Trump’s order specifically instructs the secretary of state, the attorney general, the secretary of homeland security and the commissioner of Social Security to make sure their departments’ policies match the directive. Those agencies matter because they oversee passports, immigration-related records, legal enforcement and Social Security documentation, all of which can serve as practical proof of citizenship.

The order also requires the heads of executive departments and agencies to publish public guidance on how they will implement it within 30 days. As of Thursday, the sourced material for this story did not show any completed agency guidance.

The legal backdrop is the Supreme Court’s June 30 decision in Trump v. Barbara, No. 25-365, which the new order cites directly. In that ruling, the court rejected Trump’s earlier attempt to narrow birthright citizenship for children born to parents who were in the country unlawfully or temporarily.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority: “Children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are ‘subject to the jurisdiction’ of the United States and are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause.”

That decision upheld lower-court relief against a separate Jan. 20, 2025, Trump executive order, “Protecting The Meaning And Value Of American Citizenship,” which had sought broader restrictions and was blocked in court. The new Aug. 6 order is a distinct White House action, though it is tied to the same policy push and was issued the same day as another order titled “Ending Birth Tourism.”

The practical effect of Thursday’s directive will depend on how agencies write and apply their guidance over the next month. For now, the order is an administrative instruction to federal agencies, not a change to the Constitution or to federal citizenship law passed by Congress.