U.S. President Donald Trump is once again attempting to restrict birthright citizenship in the United States, just weeks after the Supreme Court rejected his previous effort to overturn the long-standing policy.
Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday, including one that expands the categories of non-citizens whose children would no longer automatically receive U.S. citizenship based on being born on American soil.
The second order targets so-called “birth tourism,” a practice in which pregnant women travel to the United States to give birth in order for their children to obtain U.S. citizenship, according to the BBC.
“This should have happened many years ago, but we are dealing with this issue now,” Trump said, criticizing the Supreme Court’s decision that blocked his previous attempt to end the 150-year-old policy.
Under the new order, automatic citizenship would not be granted to babies born in the U.S. to two non-citizen parents if one of the parents is a member of a foreign terrorist organization, a foreign government official, has attempted to obtain citizenship through fraud, or resides in U.S. territories where citizenship is not guaranteed under federal law.
Citizenship rights for people born in U.S. territories, such as Puerto Rico, are established through federal law.
Trump and members of his administration have repeatedly criticized “birth tourism,” claiming that U.S. adversaries, including Russian and Chinese nationals, have exploited the policy to gain access to the United States.
During the announcement of the executive orders in the Oval Office, Trump claimed that hundreds of thousands of babies have been born in the U.S. as a result of birth tourism.
