Continuing To Protect the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship

What it does

• •Directs federal agencies (State Department, Justice Department, Homeland Security, and Social Security Administration) to deny or refuse to recognize U.S. citizenship documents for persons born in the U.S. when neither parent is a citizen and at least one parent falls into specified categories.
• •Defines four categories of ineligible persons: those with a parent who is a designated terrorist or terrorist supporter; those with a parent employed by a foreign government or international organization; those whose parents engaged in commercial transactions or fraud to secure birthright citizenship; and those born in U.S. territories where federal law does not confer citizenship.
• •Requires all federal departments and agencies to issue public guidance within 30 days on how they will implement this order in their operations.

Why it matters

• •The order implements a Supreme Court decision (Trump v. Barbara, June 2026) interpreting the Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause to exclude certain categories of children born to non-citizen parents.
• •The order affects the federal government's recognition and issuance of citizenship documents, potentially impacting passport applications, Social Security eligibility, and other citizenship-dependent benefits.

Who is affected

• •Children born in the United States or its territories to two non-citizen parents who fall into the specified categories (terrorist-affiliated, foreign government employees, or born through commercial transactions).
• •Federal agencies including the State Department, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and Social Security Administration, which must align their regulations and policies with the order.

What happens next

Federal agencies must issue implementation guidance within 30 days of August 6, 2026; the order remains subject to judicial review and applicable law.