Congressman Seeks to End Birthright Citizenship for Children of Illegal Aliens

True immigration reformers in the U.S. Congress have reintroduced legislation seeking to end birthright citizenship for children born to illegal alien parents in the United States. Authored by Congressman Nathan Deal (R-GA) and co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 46 other Members of the House of Representatives, the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2009 (H.R.1868) would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to change the current interpretation of federal law that automatically confers citizenship to any child born in the United States regardless of the immigration status of the child's parents. (See H.R. 1868 Legislative Text and Co-sponsor Listing).
The Birthright Citizenship Act of 2009 has received increasing attention in the media, possibly due to Rep. Deal's announcement in early May that he intends to run for governor of Georgia. (The Associated Press, May 25, 2009; 11Alive.com, May 26, 2009; WRBL, May 27, 2009). The Birthright Citizenship Act of 2009 does not seek to amend the Constitution, but would instead amend a statute in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to clarify the interpretation of the 14th Amendment. Congressman Deal's bill would limit birthright citizenship only to children born to at least one parent who is either: (1) a citizen or national of the United States; (2) a lawful permanent resident; or (3) actively serving in the U.S. military. The legislation would only apply prospectively and would not "affect the citizenship or nationality status of any person born before the date of the [bill's] enactment." (H.R.1868, April 2, 2009).

Congressman Deal noted that the United States is one of only a few industrialized countries who still allow birthright citizenship. While stating he was skeptical about the bill's chances of passage, he said, "I think it's important to keep the issues that are part of the immigration problem alive." (The Associated Press, May 25, 2009).
For years, FAIR has argued that the original intent of this clause of the 14th Amendment was to ensure states could not deny citizenship to persons whose parents had an allegiance to the U.S. — or at least had a lawful presence in the U.S. and had therefore subjected themselves knowingly to U.S. jurisdiction. Last week, FAIR's Communications Director Bob Dane commented to The Associated Press that Deal's bill "is a sensible, long overdue measure that closes a clause that was never meant to be a loophole." Dane added: "Coming into the country for the express purpose of having a child in order to anchor that child and yourself is, in effect, gaming the system." (Id.).