Freshman House Rep. John McGuire III (R-Va.) on Thursday introduced the Birthright Citizenship Clarification Act to codify President Trump’s executive order seeking to limit birthright citizenship by striking down the jus soli or “right of the soil” legal principle that grants citizenship to anyone born within a nation’s territory.
McGuire’s bill comes days after the Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s executive order was unconstitutional but attempts to model the caveat cited by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was not part of the majority opinion.
The legislation introduced by McGuire aims to amend 301(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401(a)), which states that any person born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction automatically acquires U.S. citizenship at birth.
The Virginia lawmaker’s amendment would not grant citizenship to the children of a mother who is unlawfully present in the U.S. and the father is not a citizen.
