White House on Balogun birthright citizenship: ‘Asinine observation’

Administration White House on Balogun birthright citizenship: ‘Asinine observation’ Comments: by Max Rego - 07/07/26 9:21 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Max Rego - 07/07/26 9:21 AM ET Comments: Link copied

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White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai on Monday dismissed the irony of President Trump advocating for FIFA to overturn the suspension of U.S. soccer player Folarin Balogun, given the 25-year-old would not be able to compete for the U.S. men’s team without birthright citizenship.

“I would say it’s kind of an asinine observation,” Desai told NewsNation host Blake Burman on “The Hill.”

“What the president has regularly called out is the fact that birthright citizenship is unfettered,” he added. “It was meant originally, as the president discussed before, the babies of freed slaves, that they would … have American citizenship and have the rights of Americans, which we fought an entire Civil War to guarantee.”

Balogun received a red card during the U.S. squad’s 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 last week, triggering an automatic one-game suspension for the Americans’ round of 16 match against Belgium on Monday.

But on Sunday, the 18-member FIFA disciplinary committee announced it had delayed the striker’s suspension for a one-year “probationary period,” allowing him to compete against Belgium.

The decision came after President Trump reached out to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, with whom he has a close relationship, about the red card — which referee Raphael Claus issued to Balogun after assistance from video review.

Infantino does not sit on the disciplinary committee, and he said Monday that the judicial bodies of FIFA “are independent” and “decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts before them.”

Later in the day, Mohammad Al Kamali, the chair of the disciplinary committee, reiterated the body is “independent” from political influence and noted it did not overturn the red card against Balogun but instead suspended the “implementation” of the one-game ban under Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

Notably, the forward was born in New York City after his mother, who was born in Nigeria and lived in London at the time, could not board a flight back to England because airline employees said she was too pregnant to fly.

Shortly after his birth, Balogun and his mother traveled back to the U.K., according to an ESPN profile on the striker from 2023. He ended up deciding to play for the U.S. senior national team, with the decision only possible because of the country’s policy guaranteeing citizenship for those born here.

Trump, though, attempted to restrict birthright citizenship with a an executive order after he returned to office in January 2025. The order required a baby born on U.S. soil to have at least one parent with citizenship or permanent legal status to gain birthright citizenship. Neither of Balogun’s parents were U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents at the time of his birth.

But the Supreme Court struck down the president’s order last week, ruling the restrictions on birthright citizenship are unconstitutional.

Desai on Monday specifically said that “birth tourists,” or those who come to the U.S. to have children and then leave the country, are taking advantage of birthright citizenship. The practice accounts for up to 26,000 of the 3.5 million babies born in the U.S. annually, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

“That’s not what birthright citizenship was intended for, and the administration will continue to kind of look into this issue based on the law,” the deputy press secretary said of the practice.

Ultimately, any discussion over Balogun’s overturned suspension is moot after Team USA lost 4-1 to Belgium on Monday, its largest margin of defeat in a World Cup match since 2006.

In four of the last five editions of the tournament, the U.S. men have lost in the round of 16, with the only exception being in 2018 — when it did not qualify for the World Cup.