#new Congress does not need a constitutional amendment to put an end to birthright citizenship, they just need to define the meaning of “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” through ordinary federal legislation.
They then need to cut off taxpayer dollars to any agency that continues to issue citizenship documents or benefits to those who are not eligible.
Congress has enforcement power under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment and its control over federal appropriations.
Meaning: Congress can simply write a statute that spells out exactly who qualifies under the Citizenship Clause.
They can attach spending restrictions to appropriations bills so agencies like the State Department and USCIS have no budget to keep treating children of illegal migrants as automatic citizens.
The Constitution already grants these powers to Congress.
This path avoids the fight for a formal amendment while forcing agencies to follow the corrected standard or lose their funding.
President Donald Trump is pushing congress to do exactly that, act without an amendment, adding that Congress should start work immediately to end what he called expensive and unfair birthright citizenship.
Fast Facts:
🔺️Between 2021-2023 more than 1 million anchor babies were born in the United States , according to The Center for Immigration Studies
2021: 220,000 births to illegal migrant mothers
2022: 255,000 births
2023: 300,000 births
2024: 320,000 births
🔺️Nearly all illegal migrant births are covered by Medicaid, or uncompensated hospital care, costing taxpayers tens of billions of dollars each year.
🔺️Illegal migrant households, including education, healthcare, and welfare accessed through U.S.-born children, also cost taxpayers tens of billions each year
🔺️U.S.-born children of illegal migrants can later petition to change their parents’ immigration status or other immigration benefits, creating chain migration pathways not available to migrants who follow legal processes.
🔺️Birth tourism offers packages that include visas, housing, and medical arrangements aimed at securing automatic U.S. citizenship for the child.
