Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida introduced legislation on Tuesday that would end “unqualified” birthright citizenship.
“The legislation would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reflect the original intent of the 14th Amendment’s ‘subject to the jurisdiction thereof’ clause,” Gaetz’s office said in a statement. “If passed, the legislation would deny automatic citizenship at birth to children born within the United States whose parents are not U.S. nationals –– excluding aliens lawfully admitted as refugees or permanent residents or performing active services in the U.S. Armed Forces.”
The bill, “End Birthright Citizenship Fraud Act of 2023,” was introduced one day before Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is set appear before the House Judiciary Committee for a hearing.
“Birthright citizenship has been grossly and blatantly misapplied for decades, recently becoming a loophole for illegal aliens to fraudulently abuse our immigration system," Gaetz said. "My legislation recognizes that American citizenship is a privilege –– not an automatic right to be co-opted by illegal aliens."
According to a 2018 analysis from the Center for Immigration Studies, nearly 400,000 so-called "anchor babies" are born across the country each year.
END BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP! pic.twitter.com/DsnxTZIesx
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) July 25, 2023
The U.S. and Canada allow unrestricted birthright citizenship, along with most Central and South American countries. But many developed nations have restrictions in place, Breitbart reports.
Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk said every Republican should support Gaetz's legislation and if they don't, "they aren't serious about getting our border under control."
Matt Gaetz has just proposed a bill to end birthright citizenship for the 400,000 children of illegals born in the US every year. Open Border radicals will cry racism and say it's unconstitutional. It's both perfectly legal and would simply keep America in step with the rest of…
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) July 26, 2023
GOP presidential candidates Donald Trump and Vivek Ramaswamy have vowed to end the practice if elected.