Fact Check: Trump's children will not be affected by his birthright citizenship executive order
U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to end birthright citizenship for children born to immigrants in the country illegally and people on temporary status would have resulted in four of his five children being deported, as they were born to immigrant mothers.
Rating:
What's True:
Four of Trump's five children were born to immigrant mothers. Trump has proposed a plan ending birthright citizenship specifically for children of immigrants in the country illegally and for people with temporary visa status residing in the U.S.
What's False:
However, Trump's children were not born to mothers with questionable immigration statuses, and their father is an American citizen. Thus, they are not affected by the proposal.
In late June 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to restrict the power of federal courts to limit President Donald Trump's executive orders, a decision centered around the his order on birthright citizenship. This was seen as a victory for the Trump administration in its attempts to implement such a policy. Trump has long said he wants to end birthright citizenship and in January 2025 he issued an executive order to that effect — which faced immediate legal challenges.
As we have reported previously, birthright citizenship stipulates that all people born within the boundaries of the United States are considered U.S. citizens from birth, regardless of the nationality or immigration status of their parents.
After the Supreme Court ruling, many people online pointed out the irony of Trump limiting birthright citizenship, given that four of his five children were born to immigrant mothers. Trump's first and third wives — Ivana Trump and Melania Trump — were not citizens at the time they gave birth to Trump's children Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Barron Trump.
(Reddit user u/QuaziBonzai)
While it is true that the mothers of four of Trump's children were not citizens at the time of those children's births, Trump himself was an American citizen. This alone is enough to ensure that his children have American citizenship. Ivana Trump had a strong legal standing to obtain permanent residency, and Melania Trump — by her own account — already had a green card. As such, we rate this claim as mostly false.
However, as we noted before, determining the legal status of an immigrant prior to achieving naturalization or permanent residency is a complex issue, as is determining the legal status of Trump's wives at the time they gave birth. At the beginning of those marriages, Trump was a real estate developer and not as entrenched in politics, so his wives' immigration statuses did not attract attention.
Trump's January 2025 executive order specifically calls for ending birthright citizenship in two cases, for mothers who are in the country illegally or have temporary status in the country. It states birthright citizenship does not apply:
(1) when that person's mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person's birth, or
(2) when that person's mother's presence in the United States at the time of said person's birth was lawful but temporary (such as, but not limited to, visiting the United States under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program or visiting on a student, work, or tourist visa) and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person's birth.
Ivana Trump, a native Czechoslovakian, moved to New York around 1976 and married Donald Trump in April 1977. Their first son, Donald Trump Jr., was born in December 1977. The Trumps likely settled any lingering immigration matters during the time between their marriage his birth. However, even if Ivana Trump had not yet become a permanent resident in the U.S., her children would still be entitled to citizenship under Trump's plan because they were born in the country to an American citizen father.
Similarly, Slovenia-native Melania Knauss Trump moved to New York City in 1996, although her immigration status came under scrutiny. She had a career as a model and, according to her immigration attorney, entered the country on a short-term visit visa, followed by an H-1B work visa which allowed her to work as a model.
The lawyer noted that Melania "self-sponsored herself for a green card as a model of 'extraordinary ability,' and on March 19, 2001, she was admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident." She married Trump in January 2005. Their son, Barron Trump, was born in March 2006, more than a year after the wedding and within the U.S. to an American citizen father.
Per our previous coverage, Trump's proposition was widely criticized as incongruent with the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment granting birthright citizenship to all people born inside the U.S. While it's true that the executive order could be considered hypocritical given that Trump's children were born to immigrant mothers, because Trump was married to those mothers at the time of the births, his wives had stronger legal status. One already had a green card by her own account and the other could have obtained a green card through her spouse. We have noted before that both women were already of above-average means and married to a business mogul, likely aiding their ability to gain legal status.
The executive order also states the policy would "apply only to persons who are born within the United States after 30 days from the date of this order." Trump's children were all born decades before the order was issued.
Even if the mothers' immigration statuses were called into question and even if Trump was not married to them at the time of the children's births, all of Trump's children have an American father. Thus, Trump's executive order against birthright citizenship would not affect the statuses of his own children.
Snopes' archives contributed to this report.
Garcia, Arturo. "FACT CHECK: Did Melania Trump's Parents Arrive in the U.S. Through 'Chain Migration'?" Snopes, 8 Feb. 2018, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/melania-trump-parents-chain-migration-meme/. Accessed 2 July 2025.
LaCapria, Kim. "Would Donald Trump Deport His Children?" Snopes, 20 Aug. 2015, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/donald-trump-children-immigrant/. Accessed 2 July 2025.
Neuman, Scott. "What Is a Universal Injunction and How Did the Supreme Court Limit Its Use?" NPR, 27 Jun. 2025. NPR, https://www.npr.org/2025/06/27/nx-s1-5448821/universal-injunction-supreme-court-executive-order-birthright. Accessed 2 July 2025.
"Protecting The Meaning And Value Of American Citizenship." The White House, 21 Jan. 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/protecting-the-meaning-and-value-of-american-citizenship/. Accessed 2 July 2025.
"What's next for Birthright Citizenship after the Supreme Court's Ruling." AP News, 27 Jun. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/birthright-citizenship-trump-supreme-court-next-steps-11ce3a0dfe3a30c0ee1b67b92a322f01. Accessed 2 July 2025.
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