The citizenship rights of United States-born children whose parents hold temporary visas have drawn renewed attention following a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing where Republican lawmakers pushed for legislative restrictions while Democrats maintained that the 14th Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship. Republican subcommittee chairman Chip Roy urged Congress to intervene after the Supreme Court overturned an executive order previously issued by President Donald Trump, arguing that lawmakers should define the constitutional phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof”. Roy contended that the 14th Amendment was never intended to grant automatic citizenship to children born to temporary visitors or undocumented immigrants, claiming the Supreme Court misapplied its 1898 Wong Kim Ark decision, which concerned the US-born child of immigrants who were legally and permanently domiciled in the country.
Expert Proposals and Legislative Arguments:
During the panel, Rosemary Jenks, co-founder and policy director of the Immigration Accountability Project, testified that the Supreme Court’s ruling invalidated an executive order without stripping Congress of its plenary authority over immigration and naturalisation. Jenks advocated for amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act to exclude children of temporary residents and undocumented immigrants, alongside new rules requiring non-immigrant visa holders to designate a US citizen or lawful permanent resident to claim welfare benefits on behalf of their children. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach similarly asserted that Congress holds the constitutional leeway to enact targeted legislation, suggesting that a narrower statute addressing “birth tourism” could withstand judicial scrutiny.
Democratic Pushback and Constitutional Defense:
In contrast, Democratic lawmakers firmly rejected these proposals. Representative Mary Gay Scanlon, the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, argued that children born on American soil to undocumented immigrants and visa holders fall under the protection of the 14th Amendment. Scanlon emphasized that these children are subject to US laws from birth and hold an indisputable constitutional claim to the associated rights, duties, and protections of that status.
