Quick Hit:

Sen. Tom Cotton has introduced a bill to end birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens, terrorists, and foreign spies. The move backs President Trump’s America First agenda and targets a key driver of illegal immigration.

Key Details:

Cotton’s bill would deny automatic citizenship to U.S.-born children of illegal aliens, foreign terrorists, and foreign spies.
The legislation responds to what Cotton calls a major contributor to the illegal immigration crisis under President Joe Biden.
The Supreme Court has never explicitly ruled that children of illegal immigrants must be granted citizenship under the 14th Amendment.

Diving Deeper:

Sen. Tom Cotton’s latest legislative effort directly targets one of the most contentious interpretations of the 14th Amendment — the idea that children born on U.S. soil to illegal aliens are automatically granted American citizenship. On Tuesday, Cotton will formally introduce the Constitutional Citizenship Clarification Act, a move first reported by Breitbart News. The legislation seeks to amend existing federal law and clarify that birthright citizenship does not apply to children born to those in the country illegally or those affiliated with foreign threats.

Cotton emphasized the national security and immigration implications in a statement, declaring, “There is no constitutional right for illegal aliens to cross the border to gain citizenship for their children. Granting birthright citizenship to illegal aliens has contributed to the highest levels of illegal immigration in history. Fixing this will help reduce the damage from Joe Biden’s catastrophic border crisis.”

The bill is a legislative backup to President Donald Trump’s long-standing push to end birthright citizenship via executive order. That effort was recently blocked by Judge Joseph LaPlante, a George W. Bush appointee, halting the administration’s order from taking effect. Cotton’s bill now takes the fight to Congress, where it will challenge lawmakers to take a stand on an issue that has split the nation’s legal scholars and policymakers for decades.

Critics of the current policy argue that so-called “anchor babies” create a pathway for entire families to gain permanent legal status in the U.S. Years after birth, these children can sponsor their illegal-alien parents and other relatives for green cards, cementing multigenerational footholds in the country. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, approximately 225,000 to 250,000 anchor babies were born in 2023 alone, representing nearly 7% of all U.S. births that year.

Despite left-wing legal interpretations, the Supreme Court has never ruled that the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship to children of illegal aliens. Many constitutional conservatives argue that the original meaning of “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” excludes those unlawfully present in the country. In Cotton’s view, continuing to reward unlawful presence with citizenship directly undermines U.S. sovereignty.

The bill marks a bold step in the GOP's broader push to restore control over immigration laws and tighten national security in the face of what many Republicans describe as the worst border crisis in American history — one that has unfolded under the Biden administration with record-setting illegal crossings and systemic abuse of asylum loopholes.

Cotton’s measure is expected to face fierce resistance from Democrats and establishment Republicans who defend the current policy on humanitarian or legal grounds. Still, the proposal will likely energize the conservative base and offer another litmus test on immigration ahead of the 2026 midterms.

"Sen. Tom Cotton" by U.S. Institute of Peace licensed under (CC BY-SA 2.0)