The U.S. State Department has put forward new draft guidance that would require parents applying for passports on behalf of their children to submit proof of their own citizenship or immigration status, marking the latest move by the Trump administration to restrict birthright citizenship.
The proposed changes, detailed in internal guidance reviewed by Reuters, represent the first formal outline of how the State Department plans to implement President Donald Trump’s August 6 executive order aimed at curbing what the administration refers to as “birth tourism” and narrowing long-standing interpretations of birthright citizenship.
The White House referred inquiries from Reuters to the State Department. In a statement, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott emphasized, “President Trump has been unequivocal that this administration will protect the meaning and value of American citizenship, full stop, and that includes ensuring our passport adjudication process fully reflects those standards.”
Restricting birthright citizenship has remained a central objective of the president’s broader campaign to overhaul U.S. immigration policy. Last year, the Supreme Court struck down an earlier version of such an executive order, ruling it unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause.
Trump’s revised directive focuses specifically on cases involving “birth tourism,” where foreign nationals travel to the U.S. solely to secure automatic citizenship for their newborns. Unlike its predecessor, this order avoids some of the more sweeping language but still introduces significant new documentation requirements.
Under the new framework, citizenship may be denied to children born in the U.S. if either parent is employed by a foreign government, involved in fraudulent activity, engaged in commercial transactions to obtain citizenship unlawfully, or classified as an “alien enemy.”
According to the draft guidance, “The Department will require parental information and evidence of parental citizenship or immigration status as part of its determination whether the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.”
Should the proposal be finalized, it would mandate that all parents or legal guardians present verifiable documents when applying for a U.S. passport for their child. Acceptable forms of proof would include valid U.S. passports, certified birth certificates, I-94 arrival/departure records, or legal permanent resident cards.
At present, individuals seeking passports for children born in the United States must establish parentage and provide photo identification, though they are not obligated to submit documentary evidence of citizenship even if they affirm their status on the application form.
Legal advocates representing infants potentially affected by Trump’s initial order have filed class-action lawsuits in two federal districts, requesting injunctions to halt implementation of the revised directive before it takes effect.
