The U.S. State Department has proposed requiring parents applying for passports for their children to provide proof of their own citizenship or immigration status as part of President Donald Trump’s latest effort to limit birthright citizenship.
The draft guidance, reviewed by Reuters, is the first detailed look at how the State Department could enforce Trump’s August 6 executive order targeting what it calls “birth tourism” and broadening historical exceptions to birthright citizenship.
The White House referred Reuters questions to the State Department. In a statement, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said that “President Trump has been unequivocal that this Administration will protect the meaning and value of American citizenship, full stop, and that includes making sure our passport adjudication process fully reflects that standard.”
Limiting birthright citizenship has been one of the president’s top priorities in his far-reaching crackdown on immigration. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled his previous attempt violated the country’s Constitution.
Trump’s initial executive order would have granted automatic U.S. citizenship at birth only to children with at least one parent who was a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident known as a green card holder.
In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court found the order was unlawful, with a majority finding it violated the Citizenship Clause of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
Implementing Trump’s order
Trump’s August 6 order was narrower, taking particular aim at “birth tourism,” in which women travel to the United States to give birth so their children can obtain automatic citizenship. That order could still be blocked in court.
The new directive would withhold citizenship from children with a parent who works for a foreign government in the U.S., is engaged in fraud or a commercial transaction to obtain citizenship, or is classified as an “alien enemy.”
“The Department will require parental information and evidence of parental citizenship or immigration status as part of its determination whether the applicant is subject to EO 14418,” the State Department draft guidance reads, citing the executive order number.
If implemented, the proposal would require all parents or legal guardians to provide proof of their citizenship, such as a valid U.S. passport or birth certificate, or evidence of their immigration status, such as an I-94 form or a legal permanent residency card, when submitting a passport application for their children. The information would be used by the government to determine if the child qualifies for citizenship under the new order, the State Department proposal says.
Currently, parents whose children were born in the U.S. only need to prove their parentage and present photo identification during this process. They are also asked to check a box on the application form indicating if they are U.S. citizens but are not required to file supporting documentation.
Lawyers pursuing class-action lawsuits on behalf of babies who would be deprived of citizenship under Trump’s initial order have asked two different federal judges to prevent his latest order from taking effect.
One of those lawsuits is before U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, who was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden.
At a hearing on Friday in Greenbelt, Maryland, Boardman voiced skepticism about what she called Trump’s unprecedented order and allowed the plaintiffs to revise their lawsuit so she could consider whether to block it.
Justice Department attorneys have argued that a restraining order would be inappropriate and that the legal challenge was premature, as federal agencies had yet to issue public guidance on how the president’s directive would be implemented.
