What is birthright citizenship and how common is birth tourism in the US?

Key Points:

• President Donald Trump signed two executive orders targeting birth tourism and limiting birthright citizenship for children born in the US to certain non-citizen parents, including those affiliated with foreign terrorist groups or government employees.
• The orders aim to expand definitions of non-citizens excluded from automatic citizenship and direct federal agencies to crack down on birth tourism, which involves foreign nationals traveling to the US to give birth and obtain citizenship for their children.
• Birthright citizenship is rooted in the 14th Amendment, granting citizenship to nearly all born on US soil, with exceptions such as children of foreign diplomats or those born in unincorporated territories without citizenship rights.
• Estimates suggest birth tourism accounts for approximately 20,000 to 26,000 births annually in the US, a small fraction of total births, though exact numbers are difficult to verify due to data limitations and intent assessment.
• The Supreme Court previously rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to end birthright citizenship, with justices questioning the legal impact of birth tourism on constitutional interpretation; other countries offer more limited citizenship rights based on parentage.