Sponsor
John J. McGuire
Representative · R-VA
Representative · R-VA
The bill trades clearer statutory definitions and narrower, targeted exceptions to birthright citizenship (arguably reducing incentive for birth tourism and clarifying diplomatic exceptions) against a high risk that many U.S.-born children of noncitizen parents will lose automatic citizenship, triggering major legal, administrative, and social costs.
Parents temporarily or unlawfully present in the U.S.: the bill targets birthright exceptions to reduce incentives for 'birth tourism' and potential visa manipulation by clarifying who can be excluded from automatic citizenship.
Children born to foreign diplomats or on foreign public ships: the bill preserves existing diplomatic/maritime exemptions so those narrow categories remain excluded from automatic U.S. citizenship, maintaining long‑standing international immunities.
Immigrants, parents, and government administrators: the bill clarifies and defines key terms (e.g., 'unlawfully present', 'lawful but temporary', 'mother', 'father') and refines which visa categories are covered, reducing statutory ambiguity and making enforcement and adjudication more predictable.
Children born in the U.S. to noncitizen parents (including those unlawfully present or on common nonimmigrant visas): may be denied automatic U.S. citizenship, risking statelessness or prolonged legal vulnerability at birth.
Families, immigration courts, and government agencies: the bill will substantially increase litigation and administrative burdens as courts and agencies must determine parents' precise immigration status at the time of birth, raising legal costs and delays.
Noncitizen children and low‑income families: denial of birthright citizenship would reduce access to benefits, schooling, healthcare, and other protections tied to citizenship, increasing economic and social vulnerability and producing downstream costs for taxpayers and social services.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Statutorily excludes children born in the U.S. to parents unlawfully or temporarily present from automatic birthright citizenship, while preserving historical exceptions and applying prospectively.
Official title: To amend section 301 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to clarify those classes of individuals born in the United States who are not nationals or citizens of the United States at birth.
Introduced July 9, 2026 by John J. McGuire · Last progress July 9, 2026
Amends federal nationality law to deny automatic U.S. citizenship at birth for children born in the United States to parents who are noncitizens and either unlawfully present or only temporarily present (for example, on tourist, student, work, or visa waiver programs), while preserving longstanding exceptions (foreign sovereigns and ministers, children born on foreign public ships, and children of enemies during hostile occupation). The change is explicitly prospective and applies only to children born 30 days after the law takes effect. The bill adds a new subsection to 8 U.S.C. §1401(a) listing five categories of persons who will not be U.S. citizens or nationals at birth, defines related terms, expresses congressional views about the 14th Amendment's phrase "subject to the jurisdiction thereof," and includes a severability clause. It does not attempt to strip citizenship from people born before the effective date.