Birthright Citizenship is the practice of offering automatic citizenship to children born in the United States. Under current federal law, all children born in the U.S. receive automatic citizenship, but this practice had created a magnet for foreign nationals who want their children to have citizenship in the United States.
Federal authorities arrested 20 individuals this week in the first-ever crack down on business that help foreign women travel to the United States to give birth so their children can receive automatic U.S. citizenship. The individuals were charged with conspiracy, visa fraud and money laundering.
For the fifth consecutive Congress, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) has introduced H.R. 140, the Birthright Citizenship Act, that would prevent children born to illegal-alien parents in the United States from automatically receiving U.S. citizenship. The bill was introduced with 20 original cosponsors.
Since it was reported yesterday morning that Pres. Trump plans to end the practice of granting automatic citizenship to all children born in the United States regardless of the parents' immigration status, most, if not all, mainstream publications have run op-eds explaining why such a move would be unconstitutional. But the writers of these op-eds are missing (or intentionally avoiding) the ways that Pres. Trump could end Birthright Citizenship.
Pres. Trump said he is considering drafting an executive order that would lead to the end of birthright citizenship for children born to illegal aliens. The United States currently grants automatic citizenship to all children born in the U.S. regardless of the parents' immigration status -- a practice that's been abandoned in recent decades by every developed nation except for Canada and the United States.
Children born to illegal-alien parents cost U.S. taxpayers $2.4 billion each year according to a new report from the Center for Immigration Studies. The report concludes that of all births likely paid for by U.S. taxpayers, $5.3 billion is spent each year on children born to illegal alien or immigrant parents.
The Birth Tourism industry from both China and Russia is exploiting the nation's birthright citizenship laws on the Pacific Island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory. Tourists from both countries can visit the island for up to 45 days without a visa, and any children born on the island automatically receive U.S. citizenship.
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) re-introduced the Birthright Citizenship Act, H.R. 140, this week that would end the practice of giving automatic citizenship to children born to two illegal-alien parents on U.S. soil. The bill was introduced with 11 cosponsors.
When they returned from August recess this week, Reps. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), David Rouzer (R-N.C.), and Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) signed up to cosponsor Rep. Steve King’s (R-Iowa) bill that would end the practice of birthright citizenship. This brings the total number of cosponsors up to 53, which is the highest amount of cosponsors this bill has had since the 112th Congress.
Having just returned from a week-long vacation in The Bahamas with my family, I’d like to report back on some unexpected immigration-related findings. It seems that The Bahamas – a true paradise filled with gorgeous vistas and wonderful people – is subject to the same kind of illegal and legal immigration problems that plague the United States. We spoke to many native Bahamians and, when the conversation turned to employment, virtually all complained about foreign nationals, especially guest workers, taking jobs.
The last time NumbersUSA was mentioned on the House floor during a debate, it was amnesty-champion Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) slamming us for supporting an end to the Visa Lottery. But Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) mentioned us in a more flattering way on Wednesday night during debate over his amendment to the Defense spending bill that would have blocked DACA recipients from enlisting in the military.
Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.) has recently cosponsored Rep. Bill Posey’s bill to end the Visa Lottery and Rep. Steve King’s bill that would end Birthright Citizenship. This makes Rep. Brat one of only two Members of Congress to cosponsor all NumbersUSA’s 5 Great Immigration Solution Bills and earn a 100% score on his Immigration Grade Card this Congress, the other member is Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala).
As of 2015, bills have been introduced in both the House and the Senate to end birthright citizenship—S.45 introduced by Sen. Vitter and H.R. 140 by Rep. Steve King.
This week Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) wrote an op-ed in The Hill supporting the idea of ending birthright citizenship for the children born in the U.S. to illegal aliens.
The Center for Immigration Studies released a new study showing that immigrant (legal and illegal) households take access more welfare programs compared to native households.
The Supreme Court has never officially ruled on the interpretation of the first clause of the 14th Amendment, which states: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."
The interpretation of the section "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" is what leads to the birthright citizenship debate for illegal aliens.
The information below was gathered from studies conducted by organizations such as The Center for Immigration Studies and The Pew Hispanic Center.
MYTH: The main problem with birthright citizenship is that it provides an enticement for illegal immigration and increases the number of dual citizens.
TRUTH: Anchor babies are the main problem because it allows illegal alien parents to stay in the U.S.
The straw man that many set up is that the argument against birthright citizenship is based on the belief that it is a major enticement for illegal immigration.
For the first time in 10 years, the issue of Birthright Citizenship was in the forefront on Capitol Hill this week when the House Immigration Subcommittee held a hearing on Wednesday. The hearing sought to determine if Birthright Citizenship is the right policy for America, but it focused less on the policy question, and more on whether or not it's a Constitutional mandate via the 14th Amendment. The panelists told the Subcommittee that only with a law passed by Congress could the courts offer an interpretation.
Breitbart News -- Caroline May
Approximately 350,000 to 400,000 children are born to illegal immigrants in the U.S. each year. Due to current policy, all automatically become U.S. citizens, Center for Immigration Studies legal policy analyst Jon Feere testified before a House panel Wednesday.
Over the next several days, we are encouraging the public to press their Members of Congress to answer the following question:
QUESTION: Should a baby of foreign citizens be automatically made a U.S. citizen just because its parents boarded a plane to visit Disney World and later gave birth to the child on U.S. soil?
Right now, that's the law . . . until Congress changes it.
A poll released today by Rasmussen found that likely American voters disagree with President Obama on several issues, including immigration enforcement, birthright citizenship, and executive amnesty overall.
The Senate is considering amendments to the fiscal year 2016 budget resolution under a so-called vote-a-rama that could produce votes on at least 100 amendments. The budget resolution is not an appropriations or substantive bill; it lays out Congress’ spending and policy objectives for a given fiscal year and is non-binding. In the realm of immigration, amendments are expected that instruct Congress to clarify birthright citizenship and massively increase the number of work permits issued to foreign tech workers.
This week Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) re-introduced the S.45: Birthright Citizenship Act of 2015. Vitter’s bill would close the loophole by clarifying that birthright citizenship is only given to the children of U.S. citizens and legal resident aliens.
Wall Street Journal -- Miriam Jordan
Federal agents Tuesday executed search warrants at several Southern California sites they say are connected to three multimillion-dollar birth-tourism businesses that enabled thousands of Chinese women to travel here and return home with infants born as U.S. citizens.
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) introduced H.R. 140 last week that would end birthright citizenship for children born to two illegal-alien parents on U.S. soil. The bill is cosponsored by eight other Representatives.
In a joint-statement with the Department of State, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that they were changing regulations that redefine the term "mother" to include women who are contracted to carry other women's embryos to birth.
RUMOR: The 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to children born to parents illegally in the U.S.
Companies are springing up in China and the United States that enable the Chinese elite to hire American women to serve as surrogate mothers, Reuters news agency reports. The children born to surrogate mothers are eligible for US citizenship and will later be able to sponsor their Chinese parents for Legal Permanent Residency.
Reps. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) and Kenny Marchant (R-Texas) have cosponsored H.R.140, the Birthright Citizenship Act. The bill was introduced by Rep. Steve King and is part of NumbersUSA's 5 Great Immigration-Reduction Solutions. If passed, the bill would end the practice of granting automatic citizenship to all children born in the United States.
Reps. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) and Alan Nunnelee (R-Miss.) have cosponsored H.R.140, the Birthright Citizenship Bill. The bill was introduced by Rep. Steve King and is part of NumbersUSA's 5 Great Immigration-Reduction Solutions. If passed, the bill would end the practice of granting automatic citizenship to all children born in the United States.
Rep. Steve King has introduced the first immigration bill into the 113th Congress - the Birthright Citizenship Act that would end the practice of giving automatic citizenship to every child born in the United States. H.R.140 would require at least one parent of newborns to be a U.S citizen or legal permanent resident in order to receive automatic citienship. The bill was introduced with 13 original cosponsors.
Birth tourism – an industry that helps wealthy foreign women give birth in the United States and get citizenship for their babies – appears to be growing in California, according to the Sacramento Bee. The thousands of dollars these women spend later gives their children easy access to American universities and jobs. It also opens up green cards for the entire family after the child becomes 21.
Rep. Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.) has cosponsored three immigration bills from the list of bills that make up our "5 Great Immigration-Reduction Bills." Rep. Quayle has now cosponsored bills in 4 of our 5 categories only missing a bill to end the Visa Lottery. That bill, H.R.704 introduced by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, has already been approved by the House Judiciary Committee and can no longer add more cosponsors. Rep. Qualye serves on the Judiciary Committee and voted for H.R.704 during markup.
A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies repudiates claims made by a high-immigration group that ending Birthright Citizenship would cost U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars per year. Earlier this year, the National Foundation for American Policy released a new report alleging that ending Birthright Citizenship would create a new "baby tax" for all U.S. citizens, create a second-class society, decrease income tax revenues for the federal government, and cause children born to illegal aliens to become stateless.
Freshman Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.) has cosponsored the CLEAR Act, H.R.100, that would increase interior enforcement by requiring the federal government to work with local municipalities to enforce immigration laws. By cosponsoring the bill, Rep. Palazzo has now cosponsored at least one bill in each category of our "5 Great Solutions".
Rasmussen Reports recently published a poll that shows more voters than ever, are opposed to granting automatic U.S. citizenship to a child born to an illegal immigrant in this country
All debates have winners and losers, but our 5 Great Immigration Solutions grid was the big winner during last night's GOP Presidential Hopefuls debate in Las Vegas. Two of our 5 Great Solutions were plugged by two different candidates - mandatory E-Verify and ending Birthright Citizenship.
Freshman Rep. Rich Nugent (R-Fla.) has joined NumbersUSA's 5-for-5 Club after cosponsoring Rep. Marsha Blackburn's Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal (CLEAR) Act of 2011. The CLEAR Act of 2011 would help local law enforcement detect, arrest and detain illegal aliens in their communties.
Rep. Ed Royce has joined NumbersUSA's 5-for-5 Club after cosponsoring the SAFE for America Act, which would end the Visa Lottery. Rep. Royce has now cosponsored at least one bill in each of our 5 Great Immigration-Reduction categories and joins 10 other Members of Congress to cosponsor a bill in each of the categories.
Rosemary Jenks, director for government relations for NumbersUSA, a Washington, D.C., group that advocates for lower immigration, said birth tourism, though "not overwhelming," leads to more immigration down the road. As U.S. citizens, the children of birth tourists, upon turning 21, can sponsor their parents to come to the U.S., she said.
"The problem is chain migration," she said. "That one person turns into a whole bunch more."
Rep. Gary Miller (R-Calif.) has joined NumbersUSA's 5-for-5 Club after cosponsoring Rep. Bob Goodlatte's SAFE for America Act that would end the Visa Lottery. Rep. Miller has cosponsored at least one bill in each category of our "5 Great Immigration Solutions". Rep. Miller is a long-time champion for lower immigration levels, and in the previous Congress, he joined Reps. Sue Myrick and Lamar Smith in forming the Reclaim American Jobs Caucus in Congress.
Freshman Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) joined NumbersUSA's 5-for-5 Club after cosponsoring House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith's E-Verify bill, H.R.2164, last week. Rep. Ross is the third freshman to join the 5-for-5 Club, but more importantly, the first Member of the House Immigration Subcommittee. He's also the first Member of the House Judiciary Committee to go 5-for-5.
Freshman Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) has cosponsored the SAFE for America Act, H.R.704, that would end the Visa Lottery. By cosponsoring the bill, Rep. Brooks has now cosponsored at least one bill in each category of our "5 Great Solutions". While Rep. Brooks is only serving his first term in Congress, he's cosponsored more than a dozen immigration-reduction bills and was identified as a "True Reformer" during last year's mid-term elections.
Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) has co-sponsored Sen. David Vitter's (R-La.) legislation that would amend federal law to require at least one parent of children born in the United States be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident. The Birthright Citizenship Act of 2011 (S.723) amends section 301 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and is similar to legislation offered by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) in the House.
Reps. Robert Alderholt (R-Ala.), Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), Wally Herger (R-Calif.), and Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) have cosponsored the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2011 introduced by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa). The bill currently has 77 co-sponsors and amends current U.S. code to require at least one parent to be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident for a new born to receive automatic citizenship.
A new Rasmussen poll shows that 61% of Americans oppose granting citizenship to the children of illegal aliens and that most Americans oppose giving government services to illegal aliens.
