President Trump argues the Constitution never intended automatic citizenship for children of wealthy foreigners as court challenge and Congress scrutiny today.
President Donald Trump said America’s Birthright Citizenship Policy was originally designed to protect the children of enslaved people, not to grant automatic citizenship to the children of foreign nationals with no lasting ties to the United States.
In an interview with Politico, Trump said the provision, rooted in the aftermath of the Civil War, has been widely misused and should ultimately be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. He argued that wealthy foreigners are exploiting the policy to secure U.S. citizenship for their children, a practice often referred to as “birth tourism.”
“That case was meant for the babies of slaves,” Trump said, referring to the 14th Amendment. “It was exactly about the Civil War. It was not meant for a rich person coming from another country, putting a foot on our soil, and suddenly their whole family becomes United States citizens.”
Under current U.S. law, nearly anyone born on American soil is granted citizenship at birth, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. The policy has long been settled constitutional law, but it has become a renewed point of political and legal debate amid broader disputes over immigration and border enforcement.
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Trump said the United States cannot sustain what he described as the long-term costs of birthright citizenship, arguing that millions of people have gained legal status through the policy. He said ending the practice would be both justified and necessary, and expressed confidence that the Supreme Court would eventually side with his view.
The issue is also gaining traction on Capitol Hill. Republican Representative Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin recently raised concerns about what he called a sharp rise in birth tourism, particularly involving wealthy Chinese nationals.
Speaking during a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Tiffany pointed to the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory in the Pacific, where certain visa exemptions apply. He said foreign births there now outnumber those of local residents.
“Chinese passport holders have been allowed to bypass U.S. visa requirements through categorical parole since 2009,” Tiffany told lawmakers, warning that the system has created loopholes that undermine immigration controls.
Democrats and immigration advocates argue that birthright citizenship is a core constitutional principle that guarantees equality under the law and prevents the creation of a permanent underclass. They also note that changing the policy would likely require a constitutional amendment, not just a court ruling.
The debate comes as immigration remains one of the most polarizing issues in U.S. politics, with legal challenges and legislative battles expected to intensify in the months ahead.
