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Trump issues narrower birthright-citizenship and “birth tourism” orders

Political Guyentist · August 8, 20262 min read

WHITE HOUSE

Currently showing How the G7 handles citizenship by birthplace
How the G7 handles citizenship by birthplace
The U.S. is one of two G7 countries with broad birthright citizenship Rule for a child born on the territory · national exceptions and edge cases omitted BROADLY AUTOMATIC 2 OF 7 G7 COUNTRIES US United States CA Canada Citizenship generally follows birthplace PARENT OR RESIDENCE CONDITIONS 3 OF 7 G7 COUNTRIES DE Germany A parent must meet legal-residence rules FR France Parentage and residence limits apply UK United Kingdom A parent must be a citizen or settled NO GENERAL TERRITORIAL RULE 2 OF 7 G7 COUNTRIES IT Italy JP Japan Worldwide, 33 countries generally grant citizenship by birthplace They are concentrated in the Americas. The G7 comparison does not decide what U.S. law permits a president to change. Source: Pew Research Center / GLOBALCIT, 2026. Simplified categories; national law contains exceptions.

The comparison explains why the U.S. is unusual among wealthy democracies; it does not answer whether a president can change a constitutional and statutory rule without Congress.