Republican firebrand Matt Gaetz (Fla.) has introduced a bill to end birthright citizenship.
The legislation, titled the “End Birthright Citizenship Fraud Act of 2023,” would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act “to reflect the original intent of the 14th Amendment's ‘subject to the jurisdiction thereof,' clause,” according to a statement on the measure. (RELATED: Being An American Citizen Is A Privilege, It Is Time We Start Treating It Like One)
The 14th Amendment grants citizenship to all “born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.”
According to The Hill, if the bill is passed, Gaetz's legislation would deny automatic citizenship at birth to children born in the U.S. to parents who are not U.S. citizens, while “excluding aliens lawfully admitted as refugees or permanent residents or performing active services in the U.S. Armed Forces.”
The bill claims birthright citizenship has “enabled an entire black market,” citing estimates of 33,000 births to women on tourist visas annually, and “hundreds of thousands more,” born to undocumented immigrants or those on temporary visas, “many of whom have misrepresented the purpose of their trip to avoid scrutiny.”
“Birthright citizenship has been grossly misapplied for decades, recently becoming a loophole for illegal aliens to fraudulently abuse our immigration system,” Gaetz said in a statement, adding his bill shows “American citizenship is a privilege — not an automatic right to be co-opted by illegal aliens.”
Multiple presidential candidates have signaled support for ending birthright citizenship. Former President Trump says he plans to end birthright citizenship on “day one” in office with an executive order if he's elected President.
According to the Trump campaign, the executive order “will explain the clear meaning of the 14th Amendment,” which says is that the children of foreign nationals born in the United States are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States as defined in the Constitution.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also pledged to end birthright citizenship as part of his immigration plan.
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I can’t think of another country that doesn’t require both parents to be natural born or naturalized citizens for their offspring to be granted citizenship.
Great idea, but it will never get passed.
Agree, we need to end birthright citizenship per the constitution – current policy is insane, no other country has such an open door for abuse. If CCP is such a great country, why do 33,000 a year travel here to give birth? Stop the Trojan horse spread of Communism