Just days after the Supreme Court dealt Donald Trump a major setback on birthright citizenship, House Republicans are already trying another route.
Rep. John McGuire (R-Va.) on Thursday unveiled legislation designed to write Trump’s controversial birthright citizenship executive order into federal law, setting up what could become the next major legal and political battle over immigration.
The bill, dubbed the Birthright Citizenship Clarification Act, would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to deny automatic U.S. citizenship to children born in the United States if their parents are not citizens or lawful permanent residents.
Specifically, the legislation would prevent citizenship from being granted to children born to mothers who are in the country illegally when the father is not a U.S. citizen. It would also apply to several other narrow categories currently covered under existing law.
The move comes just days after the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s attempt to impose those restrictions through executive order.
While Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested Congress could potentially change portions of federal immigration law, five justices concluded that birthright citizenship is ultimately rooted in the Constitution, not merely federal statute, meaning any broad change would likely require a constitutional amendment.
However, McGuire argues Congress should adopt Kavanaugh’s position.
“American citizenship is a privilege, and an honor that must be protected,” the Virginia Republican said in a statement.
He also claimed that so-called “birth tourism” has allowed foreign nationals to exploit America’s immigration system, arguing that his legislation would restore what he calls the proper meaning of citizenship.
The bill was drafted with assistance from the conservative Institute for Legislative Analysis, whose leaders insist they tailored the legislation around Justice Kavanaugh’s legal reasoning in hopes it could survive an inevitable court challenge.
Republicans argue the legislation represents the most realistic path toward implementing Trump’s immigration agenda without going through the far more difficult process of amending the Constitution.
Whether that strategy succeeds is another matter.
Legal experts have long argued that the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees citizenship to virtually anyone born on U.S. soil and “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States, a constitutional protection that has been recognized for well over a century.
Even if Republicans manage to pass the legislation through Congress, the measure would almost certainly trigger another high-profile legal showdown that could once again land before the Supreme Court.
It’s also unclear whether House Republican leadership plans to rally behind the proposal.
Meanwhile, Trump isn’t waiting on Congress.
The president announced Wednesday that he plans to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its recent ruling blocking his executive order, signaling that the fight over birthright citizenship is far from over.
