Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) once introduced legislation similar to the Executive Order that the Supreme Court shot down on Tuesday in a move to uphold birthright citizenship.
The "Immigration Stabilization Act of 1993," if it passed, would not have allowed a child born in the United States to get automatic citizenship if their parents are not in the country legally.
In addition, it proposed making sure citizenship was only automatically granted to children or United States citizens or a “lawful permanent resident,” Fox News congressional correspondent Bill Melugin pointed out on Tuesday about the proposal from the Democrat, who died in 2021. The bill never made it beyond the Senate Judiciary Committee, which was chaired by then-Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE).
In 1993, the late Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) introduced a bill that would've eliminated birthright citizenship for the children of illegal aliens and clarified which babies would be entitled to US citizenship (US citizen or lawful permanent resident mothers).
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 30, 2026
The "Immigration… pic.twitter.com/z0cSlHpGq1
Senator Joe Biden was the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the time. The bill never got any markups, hearings, or votes after its introduction. It also would've cracked down on both legal and illegal immigration, as well as tighten asylum laws.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 30, 2026
President Donald Trump's January 2025 order also aimed to keep birthright citizenship to children of citizens and people who are in the country on a permanent basis legally.
The resurfaced proposal comes as Democrats and liberal groups cheered the court’s 5-4 decision.
“The court’s decision reaffirms a fundamental American promise — if you are born here, you are a citizen,” American Civil Liberties Union National Legal Director Cecillia Wang said in a statement. “A president cannot change the Constitution by executive fiat. Our brave clients and our legal team stand with millions of people around our country who spoke up for one of our most cherished rights. The Constitution’s guarantee of birthright citizenship stands strong.”
However, some Democrats, like Gov. Gavin Newsom, struck a darker tone, posting to X that “the Constitution barely survived today.”
“By a 5-4 vote, Trump’s Supreme Court declined to let him rewrite the Constitution and end birthright citizenship,” Newsom wrote. “We’re hanging on by a thread. The fight to defend our democracy is far from over.”
As for Republicans, congressional lawmakers and Trump slammed the court’s ruling and called for legislation to be passed to restrict birthright citizenship to prevent issues like birth tourism.
“We need to make sure illegal aliens don’t come into our country and EXPLOIT our immigration system,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) posted.
The Supreme Court has made its decision, now Congress needs to respond.
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) June 30, 2026
We need to make sure illegal aliens don’t come into our country and EXPLOIT our immigration system.
That means closing EVERY. SINGLE. LOOPHOLE.
I have a bill, the SAFE KIDS Act, to combat the… https://t.co/aPxUm1KGUl
“That means closing EVERY. SINGLE. LOOPHOLE,” the Republican added.
The president strongly disagreed with the ruling, writing on Truth Social that “he would like to congratulate President Xi, and the Great Country of China, on their massive Birthright Citizenship WIN!”