President Donald Trump has signed two executive orders aimed at limiting birthright citizenship and curbing what he calls ‘birth tourism’. The orders come after the Supreme Court rejected his previous attempt to declare that children born to people in the U.S. illegally or temporarily aren’t American citizens.

Details of the Orders

The first order limits automatic citizenship to specific categories of people, including children born to adults with connections to foreign embassies or organizations, as well as anyone considered an ‘alien enemy’ of the United States. It also aims to restrict birthright citizenship to anyone whose parents ‘engaged in fraudulent activity to obtain citizenship’.

The second order seeks to curb ‘birth tourism’ by increasing restrictions on visitors to the U.S. who want to obtain visas to give birth while in the country. Trump said he thought his latest actions would be constitutional and his drive to reopen the question reflected the administration’s zeal to restrict who gets to become an American.

Reactions and Implications

Immigration advocates and many legal experts say that the Constitution is clear in outlining who is considered a citizen. They’ve also argued that birthright citizenship is a benefit to the U.S. by giving everyone an equal stake in the country’s future and that restricting who can become a citizen would create a second-class of people in America.

The American Civil Liberties Union predicted that Trump’s second attempt would also be rejected, stating that ‘the Supreme Court already decided this issue: Birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Constitution. No additional executive order can change the meaning of the Constitution.’

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.