Trump Tries to Limit Birthright Citizenship, Hormuz Deal, Iran War Fallout

**Leila Fadel** (0:02)
The Supreme Court struck down the last attempt by the president to limit birthright citizenship.

**A Martínez** (0:07)
Now President Trump is trying again, this time with two executive orders that are narrower in scope. Will they be challenged in court?

**Leila Fadel** (0:14)
I'm Leila Fadel, that's A Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News. Iran has released details of an agreement it is finalizing with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The critical waterway wouldn't be open to American and Israeli ships, and the ships allowed through would be charged a fee.

**A Martínez** (0:34)
And President Trump's public messaging about what happens next in Iran is not matching reality. Why does that keep happening? Stay with us, we've got the news you need to start your day.
President Trump is once again trying to put restrictions on who is automatically guaranteed citizenship after being born in the US.

**Leila Fadel** (0:57)
Less than two months ago, the Supreme Court rejected Trump's previous attempt. It ruled the Constitution guarantees, it reaffirmed this actually, the Constitution guarantees automatic birthright citizenship to virtually all children born in the US.
Trump's focus now is more narrow than last time.

**A Martínez** (1:15)
NPR's Juliana Kim is covering the two executive orders President Trump signed on Thursday. Juliana, what did they say?

**Juliana Kim** (1:21)
The first order looks to restrict who's eligible for birthright citizenship. That includes babies born to members of foreign terrorist groups or employees of foreign governments, such as embassy or consulate staff who are foreign nationals. The second order says the administration will work to deny visas to people who it thinks are coming to the US to engage in birth tourism. This is an issue that Trump has raised for years. The term refers to when pregnant foreigners visit the US in order to give birth so that their newborn can obtain American citizenship.
Senior White House Adviser Stephen Miller was at the Oval Office when the executive orders were announced. And he called the crackdown on birth tourism as one of the most important actions that Trump has taken when it comes to immigration.

**Stephen Miller** (2:06)
Because it ends what has been one of the gravest and most egregious abuses of the American system and it keeps American citizenship sacred.

**A Martínez** (2:15)
Juliana, you've reported on birth tourism. Tell us how big of an issue is this?

**Juliana Kim** (2:20)
Over the years, there have been some crackdowns on covert lucrative businesses, kind of coaching travelers on how to conceal their pregnancies from immigration authorities. But set these scandals aside, the actual scale of birth tourism is unclear. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in 2024, fewer than 10,000 babies were born in the US to foreign residents. Meanwhile, the Center for Immigration Studies is a group that supports restricting immigration, and by their estimate, temporary visitors gave birth to about 70,000 babies in 2023
Both estimates suggest that tourist births make up a small fraction of the 3.6 million babies born in the US every year. And it's why immigration advocates argue that the issue of birth tourism is being blown out of proportion.

**A Martínez** (3:12)
How likely is it the executive order restricting birthright citizenship takes effect?

**Juliana Kim** (3:17)
Trump tried to restrict birthright citizenship last year through an executive order that when targeted babies born to parents in the US illegally or on temporary visas.
The order was quickly challenged in the courts and this June, the nation's highest court struck it down, reaffirming that birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. And it's why some legal experts expect Thursday's executive order to also face legal challenges. I asked David Beard about this. He's an immigration policy analyst with the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.

**David Beard** (3:49)
This is a situation where you would hope that the Supreme Court would step in very quickly to enforce its prior decision.

**Juliana Kim** (4:00)
I'll add the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about this.

**A Martínez** (4:05)
All right, that's NPR's Juliana Kim. Thank you very much.

**Juliana Kim** (4:08)
Thank you.

**A Martínez** (4:17)
We know more today about an agreement between Iran and Oman to reopen Strait of Hormuz.

**Leila Fadel** (4:22)
Yeah, that's the critical shipping route that goes through the territorial waters of Iran and Oman. Ships have not been able to pass freely since the war began in February, blockaded by Iran and then the US.

**A Martínez** (4:34)
To discuss what this agreement might entail, we are joined now by reporter Samir Hashmi in Dubai. So what new details do we have based on discussions in Iran's parliament?