Trump again tries to limit US birthright citizenship with new executive orders

Donald Trump is trying again to scale back birthright citizenship in the US, weeks after the Supreme Court shot down his previous attempt to eliminate the right.

The president signed two executive orders on Thursday, including one that expands the existing definitions of non-citizens whose children are not eligible for birthright citizenship.

The second order bans so-called birth tourism, the practice of pregnant mothers coming to the US to give birth so that their babies will be citizens.

"This should have happened years ago, but we're taking care of it now," Trump said from the Oval Office, criticising the Supreme Court's rejection of his previous bid to end the 150-year-old policy.

"My Administration has guarded against the risks posed by malign foreign actors who attempt to swindle American citizens by taking advantage of the generosity of our Nation," the first executive order says.

That order prohibits the automatic citizenship of babies born in the United States to two non-citizen parents where one of the parents is: a member of a foreign terrorist group, a foreign government employee, has attempted to gain citizenship through fraudulent means, or is living in US territories where citizenship is not conferred by federal statute.

Birthright citizenship for people born in US territories such as Puerto Rico is codified by federal statute.

Trump and members of his administration have repeatedly railed against birth tourism, including accusing Russian and Chinese adversaries of taking advantage of birthright citizenship to infiltrate the US.