Kentucky senator says proposal aims to limit automatic citizenship to children of legal residents as legal debate intensifies.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Senator Rand Paul on Thursday introduced a proposed constitutional amendment seeking to end automatic birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to parents without legal status.
Paul announced the proposal in a statement on X, which can be viewed here, framing the measure as a response to current legal interpretations of the 14th Amendment and ongoing national debate over immigration policy.
“I am introducing a Constitutional Amendment to end Birthright Citizenship. Under current interpretations of American law, anyone born on American soil automatically becomes a U.S. citizen, regardless of whether the parent was here legally or not,” Paul wrote.
He continued, “This is wrong and not at all the intent of those who wrote the 14th Amendment. We are a country filled with immigrants, and legal immigration is valuable and should be protected.”
Paul stated that while legal immigration should remain safeguarded, changes are needed to address what he described as misuse of existing policies.
“But we are also a country whose borders have been too open and our generosity exploited too often. President Donald Trump has moved to seal our border from illegal immigrants more than any other president,” Paul added. “But we will have more to do. We need to make sure that only children born to legal residents of the U.S. are automatically citizens.”
The proposal comes as the Supreme Court is expected to weigh issues related to an executive order from Trump addressing birthright citizenship. Paul indicated his amendment is intended to provide a legislative path should the Court’s ruling not resolve the matter.
“I have supported protecting birthright citizenship from abuse since the beginning of my tenure in the Senate, when I cosponsored the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2011, and now I am proposing an amendment to protect United States citizenship in case the Supreme Court fails to address this issue correctly,” he wrote.
A constitutional amendment would require approval by two-thirds of both chambers of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of the states to take effect.