{"id":2642298,"date":"2026-08-09T07:35:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T11:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-miller-thinks-trumps-new-birthright-orders-can-survive-court-scrutiny\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T07:39:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T11:39:44","slug":"why-miller-thinks-trumps-new-birthright-orders-can-survive-court-scrutiny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-miller-thinks-trumps-new-birthright-orders-can-survive-court-scrutiny\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Miller thinks Trump\u2019s new birthright orders can survive court scrutiny"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhy-miller-thinks-trumps-new-birthright-orders-can-survive-court-scrutiny%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2642298&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Stephen Miller supports President Donald Trump&#8217;s efforts to challenge birthright citizenship through new executive orders, aiming to limit who qualifies for automatic U.S. citizenship at birth. Unlike previous efforts, these orders focus narrowly on specific categories, such as children born to certain foreign officials, individuals with diplomatic immunity, recognized enemy aliens, and birth tourists. The orders attempt to leverage ambiguous aspects of the Supreme Court\u2019s 2019 decision in Trump v.Wong Kim Ark, seeking to expand exceptions to the broad citizenship guarantee outlined in the 14th Amendment. Legal experts suggest that some provisions, especially regarding American Samoa and territories where citizenship isn&#8217;t automatic, could lead to litigation, notably as they test interpretations of historical and legal precedents like the Insular Cases. The management&#8217;s strategy involves addressing specific scenarios individually rather than reevaluating the overarching constitutional question, potentially prompting courts to analyze different cases on their own merits. The orders also target birth tourism by alleging it as a form of visa fraud, aiming to prevent pregnant visitors from entering the U.S under false pretenses. Legal analysts acknowledge that these measures may face meaningful constitutional challenges, as they stretch narrow exceptions and rely on contested legal interpretations, but they also serve as a testing ground for further restrictions within immigration law.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/stephen-miller\/\">Stephen Miller<\/a> thinks President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s second bid to curb birthright citizenship can survive where the first failed, he said Thursday from the Oval Office alongside the president at an executive order signing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump\u2019s two new executive orders do not revive his previous broad effort to deny citizenship to children of illegal immigrants and temporary visitors. Instead, they target categories the administration says fall within narrow historical exceptions the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\">Supreme Court<\/a> left unresolved.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4679802\/stephen-miller-birthright-citizenship-orders-different\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Why Stephen Miller thinks orders limiting birthright citizenship will go differently this time<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4679847\/new-jersey-civil-right-investigation-delaney-hall\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>New Jersey attorney general opens civil rights investigation into Delaney Hall ICE center<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4679321\/federal-judge-paves-way-trump-temporary-protected-status-south-sudan\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Federal judge paves way for Trump to end temporary protected status for South Sudan<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">President Donald Trump speaks as White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller listens, in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/08\/localimages\/AP26218756014685.jpg?w=696&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump speaks as White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller listens, in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Miller described the orders as an attempt to use the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling in <em>Trump v. Barbara<\/em> to \u201cexpand the definition of people who are ineligible for birthright citizenship.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat includes, for example, alien enemies,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump\u2019s first birthright citizenship order would have denied automatic citizenship to children born in the United States to parents who were either in the country illegally or present only temporarily. In June, the Supreme Court held that the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/14th-amendment\/\">14th Amendment<\/a> extends citizenship to children born to those parents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chief Justice John Roberts rooted that ruling in the citizenship clause\u2019s \u201cbroad reach and narrow exceptions.\u201d He wrote that the clause begins with territory, requiring a person to be \u201cborn \u2026 in the United States,\u201d and ends with sovereign power, requiring that person to be \u201csubject to the jurisdiction\u201d of the U.S.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/25pdf\/25-365_4hdj.pdf\">chief justice said<\/a> a child born in the U.S. and subject to U.S. law \u201cwas made an American citizen.\u201d The established exceptions, he said, were \u201ccarefully defined,\u201d covering children of foreign ministers and members of 19th-century Indian tribes over whom the U.S. had ceded part of its territorial jurisdiction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump\u2019s new citizenship order attempts to operate in those narrower areas. It directs agencies to deny citizenship to children born to certain foreign government officials, employees of international organizations with immunity, individuals designated as \u201calien enemies,\u201d and parents who used commercial arrangements to travel to the U.S. to give birth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">South Texas College of Law professor Josh Blackman said Trump is trying to identify questions that <em>Barbara<\/em> did not conclusively answer.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think he\u2019s trying to find vulnerabilities in the chief\u2019s opinion,\u201d Blackman told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-american-samoa-factor-could-offer-courts-a-lesser-explored-legal-territory\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The American Samoa factor could offer courts a lesser explored legal territory<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One provision of the orders specifically highlights people born in a U.S. territory or territorial waters where citizenship is not conferred by federal statute. Blackman said that language appears to point to American Samoa and could give the administration a distinct test case that has little to do with the broad rule settled in <em>Barbara<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">People born in American Samoa are generally U.S. nationals rather than U.S. citizens at birth, unlike people born in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Blackman said American Samoa appears to be the only current example contemplated by Trump\u2019s provision.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s an issue not from <em>Barbara<\/em>, but something called the Insular Cases,\u201d Blackman said, \u201cWhich is that people in these various territories are not citizens by birth. \u2026 So he\u2019s testing the Insular Cases there as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The executive order could face litigation on that point more readily than other provisions, Blackman said. A pregnant woman from American Samoa could have a direct injury and standing to sue, although her case would not necessarily answer the separate questions involving foreign officials, alleged birth tourists, or designated alien enemies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Blackman said the administration may otherwise confront more difficult standing problems. States could argue that denying citizenship to people born within their borders would reduce federal funding tied to population, but the Supreme Court did not resolve that theory in <em>Barbara<\/em> because the earlier litigation involved individual plaintiffs.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"h-testing-what-trump-v-barbara-did-not-decide\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Testing what <em>Trump v. Barbara<\/em> did not decide<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Blackman said Trump\u2019s strategy is to force lower courts and, eventually, the Supreme Court to address each category separately rather than reconsider the broad question decided in <em>Barbara<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The alien enemy provision is one example. The majority\u2019s historical account noted the common-law understanding that children born after enemies \u201cpossess\u201d a U.S. \u201ccastle or fort\u201d were not born under U.S. allegiance. Trump\u2019s order seeks to apply that principle to people designated as alien enemies under federal law, including members of certain foreign terrorist organizations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c<em>Barbara<\/em> didn\u2019t decide the status of alien enemies, so that\u2019s not controlled,\u201d Blackman said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finding an individual challenger to that provision could prove difficult because few people would likely come forward to identify themselves in court as members of a designated terrorist group. A business that arranges birth tourism travel could also attempt to sue, Blackman said, although its standing would present its own questions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The provision involving children of ambassadors and other foreign officials rests on a more established footing, Blackman said. Roberts explained that foreign ministers are treated differently because of a legal \u201cfiction of extraterritoriality,\u201d under which diplomats remain, in some respects, under their home country\u2019s sovereignty.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe children of ambassadors, I think <em>Barbara<\/em> said they\u2019re not citizens,\u201d Blackman said, although he added that defining which other foreign government employees qualify may be more difficult.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Roberts also drew a sharp contrast between diplomats and ordinary foreign visitors. Citing an early Supreme Court case, he wrote that private foreign nationals who enter the country for \u201cbusiness or caprice\u201d are \u201camenable to the jurisdiction of the country.\u201d The majority found no similar foreign sovereignty concern for parents who are in the U.S. illegally or temporarily.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c[What] Trump\u2019s doing is basically forcing the Supreme Court to look at each item separately, not just writ large and entire orders,\u201d Blackman said.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-administration-aims-to-stop-birth-tourism-before-it-happens\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Administration aims to stop birth tourism before it happens<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The order\u2019s treatment of birth tourism may pose the most difficult constitutional question, and by all considerations appears to be an area where options to crack down are more limited.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Miller explained that the administration sees birth tourism as a form of visa fraud rather than ordinary travel by a pregnant woman. \u201cBirth tourism is, by definition, a fraud on the American system,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you\u2019re telling a consular officer you\u2019re here as a tourist, but your true purpose and intent is to go to a baby mill, give birth, and try to mint an American citizen while you\u2019re here, then you\u2019re committing a fraud against the American government,\u201d Miller said. \u201cAnd by definition that visa can, and should, and will now be denied.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump\u2019s separate order targeting birth tourism directs the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to develop regulations and guidance aimed at preventing foreign visitors from using temporary visas to give birth in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Former acting <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ICE\/\">Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a> Director Jonathan Fahey said the visa-focused component could have practical effects even if the broader citizenship restrictions face litigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you\u2019re already pregnant and your purpose is to have a child, to have it become a citizen, that would become visa fraud if you lied about that,\u201d Fahey <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JonforFairfax\/status\/2085753898363388038\">said<\/a> Friday on Fox News\u2019s <em>Varney &#038; Co<\/em>. He also argued that stricter enforcement could deter organizations that profit from arranging birth-tourism travel because prospective clients may no longer expect citizenship for their children.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think that\u2019s going to be really effective on the deterrence aspect,\u201d Fahey said. \u201cOverall, this is going to be very effective, even if it doesn\u2019t end up being upheld in the courts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Blackman said the administration\u2019s attempt to deny citizenship to children of birth tourists is \u201cthe hardest one\u201d legally because \u201cthere\u2019s no obvious historical reason why they\u2019re excluded.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The White House appears to be arguing that fraud used to obtain entry into the U.S. creates an \u201cextraterritorial fiction\u201d that places those children outside the birthright citizenship rule, Blackman said. Yet Roberts\u2019s opinion is a potential obstacle, because it said \u201ctemporary visitors remained subject\u201d to U.S. jurisdiction while here and that their children are citizens at birth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More legal analysts critical of the orders say they stretch limited exceptions under the current law beyond recognition. Tianna Mays, legal director at Democracy Defenders Action, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/trump-administration\/live-blog\/trump-fauci-congress-tennessee-election-2026-live-updates-rcna591069#rcrd118402\">told<\/a> NBC News that the administration lost \u201cthe central constitutional argument\u201d in <em>Barbara<\/em> and is now trying to stretch narrow exceptions \u201cuntil it swallows the whole 14th Amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4678398\/trump-executive-orders-curb-birthright-citizenship-birth-tourism\/\">TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDERS TO CURB BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP AND \u2018BIRTH TOURISM\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lucas Guttentag, a law professor at Stanford and Yale, told the outlet that the birth tourism directive largely restates powers the government already has under <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/immigration\">immigration<\/a> law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump\u2019s new orders are narrower than the policy the court rejected, but they are also designed to test a subset of legal boundaries that Roberts described in his ruling without clearly defining himself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Miller believes Trump\u2019s new birthright orders may succeed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2642299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/miller-trump-birthright-citizenship.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[83876,49450,14964,3634],"class_list":["post-2642298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-birthright-orders","tag-court-scrutiny","tag-miller","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/miller-trump-birthright-citizenship.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2642298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2642298"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2642298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2642306,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2642298\/revisions\/2642306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2642299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2642298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2642298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2642298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}