Overview
- Sen. Jim Banks introduced the Citizenship Act on Monday to declare people who enter without authorization or for birth tourism to be statutory “invaders” and to make their U.S.-born children ineligible for automatic citizenship.
- The bill would codify portions of President Trump’s 2025 executive order and amend the Immigration and Nationality Act so that children of people labeled as “invaders” are excluded from birthright citizenship.
- Banks frames the measure around national sovereignty and foreign‑influence concerns, citing claims about Mexican migration patterns and alleged Chinese encouragement of birth tourism as part of the bill’s rationale.
- Supporters point to Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s concurrence in the Supreme Court’s June decision as a pathway for Congress to change statutory law, while the Roberts majority reaffirmed broad 14th Amendment protections in the same case.
- The proposal faces steep obstacles because several Senate Republicans say a constitutional amendment would be required, legal challenges are likely, and the measure could struggle to get the 60 votes needed in the Senate.