Sponsors (5)
The bill narrows birthright citizenship in targeted categories to strengthen immigration enforcement and national-security clarity, but at the cost of risking U.S.-born children's citizenship, provoking large-scale litigation, and producing social, economic, and geographic harms for families and communities.
State and federal agencies (including the State Department) would have clearer statutory alignment for narrow diplomatic exceptions (e.g., children of accredited foreign diplomats), reducing legal ambiguity in those specific cases.
Immigration and national security authorities would gain clearer statutory authority to exclude certain categories (e.g., children of parents unlawfully present or engaged in hostile operations) from birthright citizenship, which proponents say could aid enforcement and reduce incentives for unlawful entry.
The bill clarifies Congress's position about narrowly defined exceptions to birthright citizenship (such as children of enemy troops), potentially producing targeted legal consistency for those limited categories.
U.S.-born children of parents labeled 'unlawfully present,' 'disloyal,' or 'hostile actors' could lose automatic U.S. citizenship at birth, directly affecting the legal status of many children born in the United States.
The bill creates major legal uncertainty and is likely to trigger extensive litigation over vague terms like 'hostile actor,' 'disloyal,' and 'unlawfully present,' imposing costs on families, courts, and governments.
Children affected by loss of birthright citizenship could become effectively stateless or face complex immigration status, complicating access to benefits, travel documents, school enrollment, and healthcare.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Narrows birthright citizenship by excluding children born to unlawfully present parents, diplomats, or those engaged in hostile occupation/operations from citizenship at birth.
Official title: 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 15, 2025 by Thomas Bryant Cotton · Last progress July 15, 2025
Removes automatic U.S. citizenship at birth for certain children born on U.S. soil by narrowing who is “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States. Specifically, it declares that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully present, present for diplomatic purposes, or engaged in a hostile occupation/operation (e.g., spies, saboteurs, terrorists, or hostile forces) are not U.S. citizens at birth. The bill directs a change to federal nationality law by amending 8 U.S.C. § 1401(a) to exclude those three parental-status categories from birthright citizenship. It also states congressional findings about common-law jus soli and the historical exceptions for diplomats and invading forces and explains the bill’s purpose to codify and extend those exceptions.