The Trump administration is sketching out detailed proposals to strip of birthright citizenship children born in the US whose parents are illegal or temporary immigrants—even though those children are legal citizens under existing law. Newly obtained federal documents show that parents, even US citizens, might soon have to document their immigration or citizenship status to get passports or Social Security numbers for their babies.
Though courts temporarily halted the executive order, the administration is still moving ahead with plans to enforce it. The guidance represents one of the most forceful steps yet to reorient American citizenship and limit access to federal services.
Parents & Citizens Subjected to New Document Screening
Under the new guidelines, even American citizen parents will have to provide evidence of their own immigration or citizenship status when applying for passports or Social Security numbers on behalf of their US-born children. No longer will a birth certificate indicating US birth suffice.
State Department documents indicate officials are now required to ask for “original proof of parental citizenship or immigration status” prior to processing a passport application. Likewise, instructions from the Social Security Administration (SSA) eliminate a birth certificate as acceptable single proof of citizenship for newborn children.
Multiple Agencies Detail Enforcement Steps
Six federal departments have issued detailed implementation plans. The Department of Health and Human Services, the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Department of Agriculture each published rules on how they would check the citizenship of children before granting access to social services.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a four-page memo detailing who would be covered by the proposed rules. Importantly, it leaves out children of asylees and refugees, although the order itself originally cast doubt on those protections.
Order Blocked in Court, But Rollout Continues
Despite the aggressive planning, federal courts have suspended enforcement of the executive order. A federal judge last week stopped the administration’s move to abolish birthright citizenship for children born to temporary or undocumented immigrants as unconstitutional and legally questionable.
Still, the new documents show the administration remains ready to implement the order. The USCIS memo acknowledges the legal uncertainty but confirms that preparations will continue in case the policy survives judicial review.
Birthright Citizenship Fight Could Delay Vital Services
The increased documentation requirements threaten to delay plain services such as passports, Social Security numbers, and health benefits—not only for immigrant families, but for all American babies. Immigration rights organizations caution that bureaucratic holdups could impact millions of families regardless of status.
American Civil Liberties Union attorney Cody Wofsy added, “Nothing in this guidance remotely changes the bottom line that this executive order is unconstitutional and cruel.”
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, at the head of a multi-state lawsuit, added, “Whatever the promises in this guidance, we remain confident that President Trump’s unconstitutional attempt to terminate birthright citizenship will never take effect.”
Citizenship Fight Isn’t Over Yet
While the policy is still stalled, the public release of internal planning documents by the administration marks its ongoing intention to redefine US citizenship regulations.
As the lawsuit unfolds, civil rights organizations are on high alert, and they caution that even temporary ambiguity could undermine essential services for millions of children born in the United States.
