US President Donald Trump has signed new executive orders targeting birthright citizenship and foreigners who travel to the United States to give birth.
The measures could affect Nigerians and other foreign nationals who travel to the US for childbirth and seek citizenship for their children.
Trump said the orders were necessary to address what he described as the misuse of birthright citizenship.
“They’ve taken birthright citizenship and they’ve made a joke out of it,” Trump told journalists at the White House.
The move follows Trump’s earlier attempt to restrict birthright citizenship for children born to undocumented immigrants and people in the US on temporary visas.
That effort was challenged in court. The US Supreme Court later ruled against the administration’s attempt to broadly implement the policy.
The 14th Amendment generally grants US citizenship to people born in the country and subject to its jurisdiction. Exceptions include children of foreign diplomats.
Trump’s latest orders also target “birth tourism,” where foreigners travel to the US primarily to give birth.
US authorities can already deny visitor visas when an applicant’s main reason for travelling is to give birth.
The new measures are part of Trump’s wider immigration crackdown, which includes tighter visa rules and efforts to deport undocumented migrants.
The orders are expected to face further legal challenges over their compatibility with the US Constitution.
