WASHINGTON, DC — Rights organisations launched a legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s efforts to restrict birthright citizenship. The legal challenge was filed at a federal court in New Hampshire on August 11, 2026.

The groups filing the challenge include the American Civil Liberties Union, Legal Defense Fund, Asian Law Caucus, and Democracy Defenders Fund. President Trump signed two executive orders regarding birthright citizenship prior to the lawsuit.

One executive order sought to expand narrow categories within the 14th Amendment deemed ineligible for automatic citizenship upon birth. The other executive order called on the heads of the Department of State and Homeland Security to stop mothers travelling to the US for the sole purpose of giving birth.

The plaintiffs argued that the Supreme Court’s June decision striking down Trump’s previous attempt to restrict birthright citizenship precluded any revision of current exceptions under the US Constitution and previous Supreme Court rulings. "The Supreme Court could not have been more clear: President Trump’s attempt to redefine who is an American citizen through executive action was unconstitutional," said Amia Trigg, deputy director of litigation at the Legal Defense Fund.

"Now, the president is trying to double down on his illegal attack on this constitutional protection. We will not stand idly by as the executive branch blatantly ignores the court’s authority in its crusade against American children," Trigg said. The executive order instructed government agencies not to issue documents recognising United States citizenship to diplomatic staff living in the US.

The executive order instructed government agencies not to issue documents recognising United States citizenship to certain people born in US territories. "The Trump administration already lost once, and it will lose again," said Aarti Kohli, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus.

"Immigrant communities know that our rights are on the line, especially when the government uses us as scapegoats," Kohli said. "The administration is just throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks," she added.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, "The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land’. We keep that promise today." Justice Brett Kavanaugh rejected the notion that the administration’s previous attempt to restrict birthright citizenship was unconstitutional.

The Trump administration did not ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its June ruling by the July deadline. Lawyers for the administration argued that birthright citizenship had been misinterpreted since the 1868 ratification of the 14th Amendment.

PureSource News previously reported that the Supreme Court was scheduled to issue 12 decisions by July 2026. PureSource News previously reported that twenty-three states asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block federal mail ballot rules.

PureSource News previously reported that the Supreme Court hears challenges to the end of Temporary Protected Status for Syrians and Haitians. Donald Trump is an American businessman and politician born in 1946 who has served as President of the United States from 2017 to 2021 and since 2025.

The Fourteenth Amendment is an 1868 amendment addressing citizenship rights, civil and political liberties. The Supreme Court is the highest court of jurisdiction in the United States of America.

The events described span 9 years, from 2017 to 2026. The legal challenge centers on whether executive actions can alter constitutional interpretations of birthright citizenship established by the judiciary.

Why It Matters

This legal challenge tests whether the executive branch can alter constitutional interpretations of birthright citizenship after the Supreme Court previously rejected similar restrictions. The outcome determines if prior judicial rulings preclude new administrative attempts to redefine eligibility under the 14th Amendment. A decision will establish whether government agencies must issue citizenship documents to children of diplomatic staff, alleged terrorists, and those born in US territories despite executive orders.