Freshman House Rep. John McGuire (R-Va.) on Thursday introduced the Birthright Citizenship Clarification Act, a legislative effort to codify President Trump's executive order restricting birthright citizenship. The bill targets the jus soli principle—the legal doctrine granting citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil—by amending existing federal law.
McGuire's bill arrives days after the Supreme Court ruled Trump's executive order unconstitutional. The Court held, 5-4, that the Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause is a constitutional matter, not merely statutory, meaning a constitutional amendment would be needed to change it. However, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was not part of the majority, argued the order violated federal statutes that Congress could alter—a caveat McGuire's bill aims to exploit.
The legislation would amend Section 301(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401(a)), which currently grants automatic citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. and subject to its jurisdiction. Under McGuire's proposal, children born to mothers unlawfully present in the U.S. and fathers who are not citizens would not receive citizenship. It would also deny citizenship to children of mothers with lawful temporary presence and non-citizen fathers, as well as those born on foreign ships or to foreign government officials.
“American citizenship is a privilege and an honor that must be protected,” McGuire said in a statement. “For too long, foreign nationals have exploited the process of birthright citizenship through loopholes like birth tourism, devaluing what it means to be an American.”
McGuire worked with the Institute for Legislative Analysis to craft the bill. Fred McGrath, the institute's president, expressed confidence the legislation would survive legal challenges. “This bill was carefully crafted to follow the instructions provided by Justice Kavanaugh while still implementing every goal President Trump sought in his executive order,” said Ryan McGowan, the institute's CEO. “Calls to fix this crisis through a constitutional amendment do not acknowledge political reality.”
The bill's introduction follows the president's pledge to ask the Supreme Court to rehear the case. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has not yet commented on whether GOP leadership supports the measure. The debate comes amid broader political tensions, including Romney's criticism of octogenarian leadership and ongoing questions about executive authority.
Critics argue the bill violates the Fourteenth Amendment and would face immediate legal challenges. Supporters, however, see it as the most viable path to curb birth tourism and restore what they call the “proper meaning” of American citizenship. The legislation is unlikely to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate, but it signals the GOP's continued push to tighten immigration rules.
