House Republican introduces Birthright Citizenship Clarification Act to codify Trump executive order

House House Republican introduces Birthright Citizenship Clarification Act to codify Trump executive order Comments: by Ashleigh Fields - 07/09/26 7:33 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Ashleigh Fields - 07/09/26 7:33 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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Freshman House Rep. John McGuire (R-Va.) on Thursday introduced the Birthright Citizenship Clarification Act to codify President Trump’s executive order seeking to limit birthright citizenship by striking down the jus soli or “right of the soil” legal principle that grants citizenship to anyone born within a nation’s territory.

McGuire’s bill comes days after the Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s executive order was unconstitutional but attempts to model the caveat cited by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was not part of the majority opinion.

He asserted that the executive order violated existing federal statutes that could be changed by Congress, rather than the text of the Fourteenth Amendment itself. However, a majority of five justices held this is a constitutional issue, not a statutory one, and would therefore require a constitutional amendment to change.

The legislation introduced by McGuire aims to amend section 301(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401(a)), which states that any person born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction automatically acquires U.S. citizenship at birth.

The Virginia lawmaker’s amendment would not grant citizenship to the children of a mother who is unlawfully present in the U.S. and the father is not a citizen.

It would also strike citizenship for those who are children of a mother with lawful temporary presence and a father without citizenship, as well as other less common situations, like children born on a foreign ship or children of 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,” he added.

McGuire worked with the Institute for Legislative Analysis to craft the bill in the wake of last month’s Supreme Court ruling.

Fred McGrath, President of the Institute for Legislative Analysis, said he’s “confident” that McGuire’s legislation will meet the constitutional standard if it faces legal challenges that rise to the Supreme Court.

“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. Calls to fix this crisis through a constitutional amendment do not acknowledge political reality,” Ryan McGowan, CEO of the Institute for Legislative Analysis, said in a statement sent to The Hill.

“This bill represents the most feasible path for conservatives to actually stop birth tourism and restore the proper meaning of American citizenship,” he added.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding whether GOP leadership is backing the bill.

The bill’s introduction follows the president’s Wednesday pledge to ask the Supreme Court to rehear a case on the legality of his executive order restricting birthright citizenship.