Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, IMMIGRATION NEWS—USCIS issues implementation plan for Executive Order 14160, (Jul 29, 2025)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

Although acknowledging that a preliminary injunction is in place preventing its implementation, the plan states that the government is nevertheless “preparing to implement the E.O. in the event that it is permitted to go into effect.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently released an “Implementation Plan” relating to Executive Order 14160, titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” which purports to deny citizenship to the children born in United States territory of parents temporarily or unlawfully present in the United States.

As described in the implementation plan, the E.O. provides that the following categories of individuals “will no longer be considered to be born “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and therefore will no longer be U.S. citizens at birth: (1) children whose “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”; and (2) children whose “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.”

Preliminary injunction notwithstanding. While the plan document acknowledges that a preliminary injunction is in place preventing the E.O.’s implementation, it states that the government is nevertheless “preparing to implement the E.O. in the event that it is permitted to go into effect,” citing the district court’s statement that nothing in its order prohibited it from doing so.

Thus, the memorandum addresses what the Trump administration means by “unlawfully present” and “presence” that is “lawful but temporary,” as well as which immigration statuses or other types of lawful presence may fall into that category. It also provides the Trump administration’s stance on whether children born in the United States to a person whose presence is “lawful but temporary” would have lawful immigration status.

Lawful but temporary status mothers. Regarding children born to mothers in the United States in lawful but temporary status, presumably including those on temporary work visas, the memo states that they will not acquire United States citizenship at birth, but it will propose “appropriate action to ensure that birth in the United States to individuals who possess lawful immigration status does not result in any negative immigration consequence for the child.” Specifically, it proposes to follow the model used currently for children of parents present in the United States on diplomatic visas who are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1401(a) but are entitled to acquire lawful immigration status by registering. “USCIS intends to broaden this practice to permit the children of aliens that possess lawful but temporary status to register to acquire any lawful status that at least one parent possesses.”

News: ImmigrationNews AgencyNews Immigration WhiteHouseNews LitigationNewsTrends