The Donald Trump administration is preparing to tighten the rules governing US passports for children born in America, with parents potentially required to submit documentary proof of their own citizenship or immigration status before their children can obtain passports.
According to a Reuters report, the proposed change is part of President Donald Trump’s broader push to restrict birthright citizenship and crack down on what his administration describes as “birth tourism”.
The proposed passport requirement represents the first detailed framework from the Trump administration explaining how it intends to implement an executive order issued on August 6 targeting birthright citizenship.
The State Department has defended the proposed changes, arguing that the passport process must reflect the administration’s interpretation of who qualifies for American citizenship.
“President Trump has been unequivocal that this Administration will protect the meaning and value of American citizenship,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told Reuters, adding that this includes ensuring that the passport adjudication process reflects that position.
What would change under the proposed rules?
At present, parents applying for a US passport for their minor children generally have to establish their relationship with the child and provide government-issued identification.
Although parents already declare their citizenship status on passport applications, they are not ordinarily required to submit documentary evidence establishing their immigration status.
That could change under the Trump administration’s proposed guidance.
The draft guidance states that the State Department would require information about the parents, along with evidence of their citizenship or immigration status, when determining whether a child falls within the scope of the executive order.
In practical terms, parents or legal guardians could be required to provide documents such as a valid US passport or birth certificate to establish citizenship. Those who are not US citizens could instead have to submit documentation proving their lawful immigration status, including an I-94 form or permanent resident card.
The information would then be used by the government to determine whether the child qualifies for US citizenship under the new framework.
Which children could be denied citizenship?
The proposed rules are aimed at expanding the circumstances under which birth in the United States would not automatically result in citizenship.
According to the Reuters report cited in the material, the directive would exclude children in certain circumstances, including where a parent works for a foreign government in the US, has engaged in fraud or a commercial transaction intended to obtain citizenship, or is classified as an “alien enemy”.
The administration has framed the move as an effort to redefine and protect what it considers the proper meaning of American citizenship.
The legal battle over birthright citizenship
The proposed passport changes come as Trump’s broader attempt to restrict birthright citizenship remains tied up in federal court.
Lawyers representing babies who could lose citizenship under the administration’s policy have filed class-action lawsuits seeking to prevent the executive order from taking effect.
One of the cases is before US District Judge Deborah Boardman, a Biden appointee. During a hearing in Maryland, Boardman expressed scepticism about what she described as Trump’s unprecedented order and allowed the plaintiffs to amend their lawsuit so that she could consider whether to block it.
The Justice Department, meanwhile, has argued that issuing a restraining order would be premature because federal agencies had not yet publicly issued guidance explaining how the executive order would be implemented.
The legal dispute follows an earlier attempt by Trump to restrict birthright citizenship. His initial executive order sought to limit automatic citizenship at birth to children with at least one parent who was either a US citizen or a lawful permanent resident.
The US Supreme Court subsequently ruled against that order, with a 6-3 majority finding that it violated the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment.
For now, the latest passport proposal remains part of the administration’s broader effort to reshape the rules surrounding birthright citizenship. If implemented, it would place a new documentary burden on parents seeking US passports for their American-born children and could become another major flashpoint in the continuing constitutional battle over citizenship in the United States.
