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Promise · Immigration
End birthright citizenship by executive order on day one
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Donald Trump said, as a candidate
“As part of my plan to secure the border, on day one of my new term in office, I will sign an executive order making clear to federal agencies that under the correct interpretation of the law, going forward, the future children of illegal aliens will not receive automatic U.S. citizenship.”
Current rating: Blocked
Blocked
Rated Jun 30, 2026
Rated by AI-assisted research
Next review Dec 2026
Why we rated it this way
Trump promised to sign an executive order on his first day back in office stating that future children of parents in the country illegally would not receive automatic U.S. citizenship. His Agenda47 plan added that at least one parent would have to be a citizen or "a legal resident", and that the order would end birth tourism. He signed Executive Order 14160 on January 20, 2025, his first day in office. It matched that plan, covering children whose mothers were in the country unlawfully or only temporarily and whose fathers were not citizens or permanent residents. Federal courts blocked the order before its effective date. After the Supreme Court limited universal injunctions in Trump v. CASA (June 27, 2025), a New Hampshire judge blocked it again for a nationwide class of affected children (July 10, 2025). On June 30, 2026, in Trump v. Barbara, the Supreme Court affirmed that injunction. Five justices held that the order violates the Fourteenth Amendment, and Justice Kavanaugh agreed with the result on the ground that it violates the citizenship statute, 8 U.S.C. 1401(a). The order never took effect.
The rating is blocked, not broken: Trump did what he said he would do, signing the order on day one, and pursued it to the Supreme Court, which stopped it. It is not in progress because the Court's merits decision settles the question for the children the promise covered. A second order (Executive Order 14418, August 6, 2026) has narrower triggers, such as a parent who is an 'alien enemy' (defined to include members of designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists), a parent who is a foreign government employee, or paid birth tourism. It also uses a different rule on parents' status: it applies when neither parent is a citizen, so a lawful permanent resident parent does not keep a child's citizenship as it would have under Agenda47 and EO 14160. Unlawful presence alone is not a trigger, so it is not a compromise version of this promise, and a court has barred its use against the class of children the Barbara ruling protects. Trump has since asked Congress to end birthright citizenship by law. None of the bills introduced to do so, including H.R. 569 and S. 304 from 2025 and H.R. 9633, S. 4973 and S. 5584 after the ruling, has advanced beyond introduction and referral to committee; the evidence lists these as examples, not every such bill.
“Blocked” means: the official tried; others stopped it.
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The evidence
Votes, bills, laws and statements related to this promise, newest first.
Showing 5 of 5 items
- Supports
Executive action
Follow-up order with narrower triggers, partly blocked
Executive Order 14418, citing the Barbara ruling, directs agencies not to recognize citizenship for a child when neither parent is a citizen and a parent is an 'alien enemy' (defined to include members of designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists), a foreign government employee, or involved in paid birth tourism or citizenship fraud, or the child is born in a territory where statute does not confer citizenship. Unlike EO 14160, a lawful permanent resident parent does not preserve citizenship; unlawful presence alone is not a trigger. On September 2, 2026, a Maryland federal court barred its use against the certified class of children born to parents unlawfully or temporarily present.
- Contradicts
Court ruling
Supreme Court rules against the order
In Trump v. Barbara, the Supreme Court affirmed the class-wide injunction 6-3. Chief Justice Roberts, joined by Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, Barrett and Jackson, held that children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment. Justice Kavanaugh concurred in the judgment only on statutory grounds (8 U.S.C. 1401(a)), and Justices Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch dissented.
- Contradicts
Bill
Trump asks Congress to act; bills stay in committee
After the ruling, Trump posted that Congress should start work on ending birthright citizenship and would have his support. Bills to do so, from the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2025 (H.R. 569, S. 304) to those introduced after the ruling (H.R. 9633, S. 4973, S. 5584), have had no action beyond introduction and referral to committee.
- Contradicts
Court ruling
Courts block the order before it takes effect
A federal judge in Seattle blocked the order on January 23, 2025, and other courts issued nationwide injunctions. On June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court limited universal injunctions in Trump v. CASA without ruling on the order itself; on July 10, 2025, a New Hampshire judge blocked the order for a nationwide class of affected children.
- Supports
Executive action
Executive Order 14160 signed on first day in office
Trump signed an order directing agencies not to issue or accept citizenship documents for children born after February 19, 2025, whose mother was in the country unlawfully or temporarily and whose father was not a citizen or permanent resident.
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