EXCLUSIVE: GOP Lawmaker Introduces Bill to End Automatic Birthright Citizenship for Children of Illegal Aliens

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—The children of “lawbreakers” should not be rewarded with U.S. citizenship, a Republican congresswoman from New York says.

The Constitutional Citizenship Clarification Act, which Rep. Claudia Tenney introduced Wednesday, would end automatic birthright citizenship for the children of illegal aliens.  

“The United States should not reward illegal entry into our country with automatic citizenship for the children of lawbreakers,” Tenney told The Daily Signal.  

“This loophole has been exploited for decades and incentivizes illegal immigration and birth tourism,” the congresswoman continued. “The Constitutional Citizenship Clarification Act restores the true meaning of the 14th Amendment, reinforces the rule of law, while protecting the integrity of American citizenship.”  

The 14th Amendment declares that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”   

The question of birthright citizenship in the 14th Amendment has gained significant attention since President Donald Trump returned to the White House on Jan. 20. 

On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order aimed at ending automatic birthright citizenship. The executive order declares that the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” means that children born to parents who are not in the U.S. legally are not subject to U.S. jurisdiction and are therefore not legal citizens.   

Trump’s action was challenged in court and is currently blocked from taking effect.  

Tenney’s bill, if passed and signed by the president, would essentially codify Trump’s executive order into law.  

The Constitutional Citizenship Clarification Act aims to amend Section 301 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which details U.S. immigration law. Tenney’s bill asserts that the 14^th Amendment “is rooted in the common law doctrine of jus soli.”  

While “jus soli” is Latin for “right of the soil,” the bill states that common law understands this to mean a person’s citizenship is not determined by the physical “soil” they are born on, but rather, where that person’s “allegiance or obedience” to a governing authority lies.  

The U.S. Supreme Court “has long recognized that, under the principle of allegiance and obedience, the children of foreign diplomats or enemy troops born on United States soil are not entitled to birthright citizenship,” the bill states.  

Following the same principle, the bill asserts “the children of foreign spies, saboteurs, terrorists, or other hostile actors, as well as the children of illegal aliens, should not be entitled to birthright citizenship.” 

If made law, the bill would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to clarify that a child born to the parents of illegal aliens is not a U.S. citizen if the parents are either “unlawfully present in the United States; present in the United States for diplomatic purposes; or engaged in a hostile occupation of, or a hostile operation in, the United States.”  

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., is introducing a Senate counterpart version of the bill.

The introduction of Tenney’s bill comes amid a major crackdown on illegal immigration under the Trump administration. Trump made immigration enforcement a pillar of his 2024 presidential election and has taken numerous measures to increase border security and discourage illegal immigration since taking office. In the past two months, no illegal aliens encountered at the border have been released into the interior of the U.S., according to the Trump administration.