President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to restrict birthright citizenship is facing a new legal challenge, with the American Civil Liberties Union and
other migrant rights groups asking a federal judge to block the administration from enforcing the measures. The legal challenge comes after the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s earlier effort to broadly end birthright citizenship for children born in the United States. The latest executive orders seek to impose narrower restrictions, including measures targeting children of certain foreign diplomats and people who enter the US for so called birth tourism. ACLU seeks fresh injunction In a new court filing, lawyers representing the ACLU and other plaintiffs urged the federal judge to make clear that Trump’s latest directive cannot be enforced. The lawyers argued that the administration is attempting to circumvent the Supreme Court’s ruling by creating new categories of children whose US citizenship could be denied through executive action. They asked the court to issue a new or clarifying injunction preventing the government from taking further action to restrict citizenship protections for children covered by the existing case. The lawyers said the administration should not be allowed to strip citizenship through executive orders or other executive actions that they argue conflict with constitutional protections. Trump targets birth tourism Trump signed two executive orders last week aimed at tightening birthright citizenship protections. One measure targets citizenship protections involving children born in the US to certain foreign diplomats, while another seeks to restrict people entering the country specifically to give birth so their children can obtain US citizenship. Trump has defended the measures as necessary to prevent what he described as people exploiting US citizenship rules. “They’re buying their way in, and we’re not going to let it happen,” Trump said while discussing the policy at the White House. Supreme Court ruling at centre of dispute The latest legal battle follows a major Supreme Court decision in June, when the justices rejected Trump’s first attempt to broadly restrict birthright citizenship. The ruling blocked the administration from implementing its policy denying citizenship to certain children born in the US based on their parents’ immigration status. The ACLU and other groups argue that the new orders attempt to achieve through narrower executive actions what the administration could not accomplish through its original policy. Norm Eisen, a former White House ethics official and co-founder of the Democracy Defenders Fund, said the administration's approach would face serious constitutional challenges. He argued that the 14th Amendment cannot be changed through an executive order. Immigration policy remains a Trump priority The dispute is part of Trump's broader immigration agenda, which has included efforts to tighten border controls and restrict immigration protections. Administration officials continue to defend executive orders as an important tool for implementing the president's immigration policies, while opponents argue that several measures exceed presidential authority. It remains unclear how the Justice Department will respond to the latest filing. The plaintiffs have also asked the judge to schedule another hearing as they seek to prevent the new birthright citizenship restrictions from taking effect.
