President Donald Trump issues new orders to limit ‘birthright citizenship’

NEW YORK: After the US Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s order restricting birthright citizenship, his administration is making a second attempt through two narrower orders.

One targets “birth tourism” by denying citizenship to children born to women who enter the US on tourist visas with the intention of giving birth there. The other seeks to deny citizenship to children born to diplomats, certain foreign-government employees, people linked to terrorism, and those working for international organisations.

Trump said the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling was “very, very unfortunate” and vowed a “big crackdown” on birth tourism. His Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said the new orders rely on presidential powers under the Immigration and Nationality Act and would also cover people who lobby or act on behalf of foreign governments.

Earlier, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Trump’s earlier order denying citizenship to children of illegal migrants and temporary visitors violated the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to people born in the US who are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the country. Trump argues that the amendment, adopted after the Civil War, was intended primarily to grant citizenship to the children of former slaves and should not apply universally today.

The new orders are expected to face legal challenges over the scope and meaning of the 14th Amendment. The administration argues that birth tourism involves fraud when visitors misrepresent their purpose for entering the US.

The issue has also drawn attention because of organised “birth tourism” operations. In one 2020 case on Long Island, prosecutors alleged that operators arranged births for 119 Turkish women who paid between $7,500 and $10,000. (IANS)

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