NATHAN v. TRUMP – Birthright Citizenship Part II

Soon after the Supreme Court ruled that President Trump’s Executive Order seeking to do away with birthright citizenship was unconstitutional, he tried again, with a new Executive Order, issued on August 6, 2026, that directs executive agencies not to recognize the citizenship of an individual “when neither parent of that person is a citizen” and: a) “either parent of that person is an alien enemy, defined to include” a member of certain designated terrorist organizations; b) “either parent of that person is a foreign government employee,” including not only foreign ministers with full diplomatic immunity but also various other employees of foreign governments or international organizations; c) “either parent of that person engaged in a commercial transaction to purchase or access birthright citizenship for the person, or engaged in fraudulent activity to obtain citizenship”; or d) “the person is born in a territory or territorial waters of the United States where citizenship is not conferred by Federal statute.”

On September 28, 2026, we and the National ACLU filed a new lawsuit challenging the new Executive Order. We allege that it is unconstitutional for the same reasons the first one was, and that it also violates the federal immigration statute, as Justice Kavanaugh opined was true of the first order.

The plaintiffs are:

• “Clara,” a citizen of France; she and her husband work for international organizations in Washington, DC, and their son “Nathan,” who was born after the issuance of the new Executive Order.
• “Patricia” and her husband, European citizens who also work for international organizations in the United States, and who are expecting a child in spring 2027.
• “Edward,” a citizen of Australia; he and his Australian wife are expecting a child through surrogacy to be born in the United States in October 2026.

We will soon file a motion for a preliminary injunction asking the court to prevent executive agencies from refusing to recognize the citizenship of our clients’ children and others similarly situated.