On Friday’s CNN This Morning, Audie Cornish casually dismissed a part of President Trump’s newest govt order on birthright citizenship by declaring that banning start tourism was pointless.
“The order additionally bans so-called start tourism, regardless that that’s already unlawful beneath U.S. legislation,” Cornish acknowledged.
Cornish’s declare is fake.
U.S. legislation does not make the act of giving start in the USA unlawful. What’s restricted is how some individuals attempt to get right here. A 2020 State Division regulation bars the issuance of vacationer visas when the first objective is acquiring citizenship for a kid. Mendacity about that objective on a visa utility or to frame officers can represent visa fraud and result in prosecution. Organized “start tourism” networks have confronted costs for fraud, cash laundering, and conspiracy.
But when a overseas nationwide succeeds in getting into — whether or not by deception, overstaying a visa, or just sneaking throughout the border — after which provides start on U.S. soil, the kid continues to be acknowledged as a U.S. citizen beneath the longstanding interpretation of the 14th Modification. The Supreme Court docket reaffirmed that rule on June 30, in what President Trump described as “a really, very unlucky resolution.” The one conventional exceptions are kids of overseas diplomats or invading forces.
A lady might give start in jail, on trial for and even convicted of unlawful entry, and her child would nonetheless be acknowledged as a US citizen.
In brief: the entry is likely to be unlawful. The start will not be. The citizenship nonetheless attaches.
Cornish’s formulation ignores that essential distinction. Surprisingly, the usually circumspect authorized analyst Elliot Williams later echoed an analogous line on the identical panel, treating the birth-tourism provision as largely redundant as a result of it’s “already barred by the legislation.”
Each statements go away viewers with the deceptive impression that the observe is already prohibited and that the brand new order provides nothing of substance.
Trump’s new govt order targets extra start tourism. It additionally seeks to disclaim citizenship to kids born to sure classes of individuals the administration labels “alien enemies,” members of overseas terrorist organizations, and people working for overseas governments. Whether or not these broader provisions survive judicial scrutiny is a separate query.
On the narrower challenge of start tourism itself, the White Home is trying to shut a loophole that present enforcement instruments have did not seal.
Cornish’s assertion that the issue is “already unlawful” ignores that actuality. The legislation presently punishes the fraud used to get in. It doesn’t stop the citizenship that outcomes as soon as the kid is born right here.
Whether or not Cornish was unaware of the authorized actuality or just selected to disregard it, her declare left viewers with a misunderstanding.
Here is the transcript.
CNN This Morning
8/7/26
6:00 am EDTAUDIE CORNISH: At the moment within the Group Chat, the president taking one other swing at birthright citizenship, this time concentrating on alien enemies. So will this one maintain up legally?
. . .
STEPHEN MILLER: That observe, of start tourism, is, as if the signing of this order, hereby banned.
DONALD TRUMP: We had a really unlucky resolution within the Supreme Court docket regarding birthright. I used to be shut, however a really, very unlucky resolution. So we’re making changes.
CORNISH: If at first you do not succeed, make some changes. However will it succeed?
Good morning, all people. I’m Audie Cornish, and right here is the place we start. President Trump together with his second attempt at limiting birthright citizenship.
Now, only a few weeks in the past, the Supreme Court docket dominated that Trump’s effort to ban birthright citizenship by govt order was unlawful. On Thursday, he signed one other govt order. The White Home says this one will impression a number of teams particularly, together with alien enemies, members of overseas terror organizations, and individuals who work for overseas governments, by making kids born to people in these teams ineligible for U.S. citizenship.
Now, the order additionally bans so-called start tourism, regardless that that’s already unlawful beneath U.S. legislation.
MILLER: I’d put this within the prime three when it comes to significance, as a result of it ends one of many gravest and most egregious abuses of the American system, and it retains American citizenship sacred.
. . .
CORNISH: So right here’s — simply want the fundamentals. Fourteenth Modification. Mainly, the Supreme Court docket majority stated, “Depart it alone. That is the legislation.” So what’s completely different about this govt order, functionally?
ELLIOT WILLIAMS: I don’t know. And right here’s the difficult factor, Audie. Anytime the president by govt order makes an attempt to redefine or change the definition of citizenship, he’s on murky authorized floor. It’s shaky, and the Supreme Court docket had stated this earlier than.
Now, as a result of that is politically sound or good— I believe many individuals would agree that we don’t need the youngsters of Hamas management or of Al Qaeda being residents of the USA. Okay, that’s politically sound, however that also may run afoul of the Structure. It’s sophisticated.
Now, we have to separate out the birthright one from the start tourism one, which does one thing completely completely different and is on stronger authorized floor, even when it doesn’t do something, proper? It’s nonetheless, it’s already barred by the legislation, proper?
And so, yeah, identical factor. These are each political statements, way over authorized ones, and that first one is completely going to be challenged within the courtroom.
