New Texas-led bill would seek to end birthright citizenship

WASHINGTON – The Houston Chronicle reports that a Texas congressman is pushing legislation to end birthright citizenship — an effort that comes as President Donald Trump’s attempt to cut off the longstanding constitutional right through an executive order drew immediate legal challenges this week. U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, a Woodville Republican, filed a bill Tuesday that would limit automatic citizenship to those born in the U.S. with at least one parent who is a citizen, a lawful permanent resident or an immigrant serving in the military. “America’s citizenship laws should reflect fairness and respect for the rule of law,” Babin said in a statement. “This common-sense legislation corrects decades of misuse and closes the loophole that incentivizes illegal immigration and exploits U.S. citizenship through birth tourism.”

At least nine other Texas Republicans had signed on as cosponsors by Tuesday afternoon, according to Babin’s office. They included U.S. Reps. Dan Crenshaw of Houston, Troy Nehls of Richmond, Chip Roy of Austin, Brandon Gill of Flower Mound, Randy Weber of Friendswood, Morgan Luttrell of Magnolia, Nathaniel Moran of Whitehouse, Jodey Arrington of Lubbock, Ronny Jackson of Amarillo and Keith Self of McKinney. Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing federal agencies to stop recognizing the citizenship of future children born to undocumented immigrants. The order would cut off access to social security numbers, passports and more for those children. It was set to take effect in 30 days, but it drew immediate lawsuits from the American Civil Liberties Union and 18 Democratic-led states. Legal scholars have said the president likely does not have the authority to end citizenship granted to those born in the U.S. And it’s unclear if Babin’s bill would accomplish it either. That’s because the right has long been enshrined in the Constitution through the 14th Amendment, a view that has held since a Supreme Court ruling in 1898. Removing it from the Constitution would require a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate, as well as the support of three-fourths of the country’s state legislatures. Babin’s bill does not seek to overturn the amendment. “Most legal scholars in the country believe that to end that will require a constitutional amendment,” said Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute. The Trump administration, however, has argued the 14th Amendment extends citizenship only to those both born in and “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States.” Trump officials argue those born to undocumented parents are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. — a distinction that historically has only applied to the children of diplomats living in the U.S.