The US State Department has proposed requiring parents to provide proof of their own citizenship or immigration status when applying for passports for their children as part of President Donald Trump’s latest effort to restrict birthright citizenship.
The draft guidance, reviewed by Reuters, provides the first detailed indication of how the State Department could implement Trump’s August 6 executive order targeting so-called “birth tourism” and expanding exceptions to birthright citizenship.
Under the proposal, parents or legal guardians would have to submit evidence of their citizenship, such as a valid US passport or birth certificate, or proof of immigration status, including an I-94 form or green card, when applying for a passport for a child.
The information would be used to determine whether the child falls under the restrictions outlined in the executive order.
Currently, parents of US-born children generally only need to establish their relationship to the child and provide photo identification when applying for a passport. They are asked to indicate whether they are US citizens but are not required to submit supporting evidence of their status.
The proposed directive would deny citizenship to certain children covered by the executive order, including those whose parents fall into categories such as foreign government employees, people involved in fraud or commercial transactions intended to obtain citizenship, or individuals classified as “alien enemies.”
The development follows Trump’s earlier attempt to restrict birthright citizenship. His initial executive order sought to limit automatic citizenship at birth to children with at least one US citizen or lawful permanent resident parent.
The US Supreme Court blocked that effort, with a 6-3 ruling finding the order unlawful and inconsistent with the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Trump’s latest order is narrower and specifically targets birth tourism, under which foreign women travel to the US to give birth so their children can obtain citizenship.
The order is also facing legal challenges. Lawyers representing families and children who could be affected have asked federal courts to block its implementation.
US District Judge Deborah Boardman, who is hearing one of the cases in Maryland, has expressed skepticism about the order and allowed the plaintiffs to revise their lawsuit as she considers whether to block it.
Justice Department lawyers have argued that court intervention would be premature because federal agencies had not yet issued public guidance explaining how the directive would be implemented.
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