PULSE POINTS
WHAT HAPPENED: Senator Tom Cotton has introduced legislation to end birthright citizenship for the U.S.-born children of illegal aliens.
WHO WAS INVOLVED: Senator Tom Cotton, President Donald J. Trump, Judge Joseph Laplante, and legal scholars.
WHEN & WHERE: The legislation was introduced on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in the United States Senate.
KEY QUOTE: “There is no constitutional right for illegal aliens to cross the border to gain citizenship for their children,” said Senator Tom Cotton.
IMPACT: The legislation seeks to address illegal immigration and align with Trump’s America First agenda by clarifying the scope of birthright citizenship.
IN FULL
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) has introduced the Constitutional Citizenship Clarification Act, a bill that would end birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to illegal aliens. The legislation, introduced on Tuesday, would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to ensure that such children are not automatically granted American citizenship.
The bill also targets the children of foreign terrorists and spies, ensuring they are not rewarded with birthright citizenship. Cotton stated, “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.”
Notably, the legislation supports a key part of President Donald J. Trump’s immigration agenda. The America First leader has already sought to end birthright citizenship through an Executive Order. However, that order was blocked last week by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante, who certified a class action lawsuit against the policy.
Under the law prior to Trump’s executive order, anchor babies—as they are often called—are granted citizenship despite their parents having no substantial ties to the United States. Once these children reach adulthood, they can sponsor their parents and other relatives for green cards, effectively anchoring their families in the U.S. for generations. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, an estimated 225,000 to 250,000 anchor babies were born to illegal alien parents in 2023, representing about seven percent of all births in the country that year.
While the Supreme Court has never explicitly ruled that the U.S.-born children of illegal aliens must be granted birthright citizenship, the practice does benefit from long-standing precedent, meaning legal challenges against birthright citizenship could face an uphill battle. Nevertheless, many legal scholars argue that the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment does not mandate birthright citizenship for these children, as they are not subject to U.S. jurisdiction under the original understanding of the amendment.
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