Freshman House Republican John McGuire III (R-Va.) introduced the Birthright Citizenship Clarification Act on July 9, 2026. The bill seeks to codify former President Donald Trump's executive order that aimed to restrict birthright citizenship by challenging the jus soli principle, which grants citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil.

This legislative move follows a recent Supreme Court decision that ruled Trump's executive order unconstitutional. However, McGuire's bill attempts to incorporate the reasoning of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who dissented from the majority opinion. Kavanaugh argued that the executive order conflicted with existing federal statutes that Congress could amend, rather than the Fourteenth Amendment itself.

The bill proposes amending Section 301(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401(a)), which currently grants citizenship to any person born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction. Under McGuire's amendment, children born to mothers unlawfully present in the U.S. with non-citizen fathers would not automatically receive citizenship. It also excludes children of mothers with lawful temporary presence and non-citizen fathers, as well as children born on foreign ships or to foreign government officials.

Fred McGrath, president of the Institute for Legislative Analysis, expressed confidence that the legislation would withstand constitutional scrutiny if challenged in the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, Ryan McGowan, CEO of the Institute, noted that calls for a constitutional amendment to address birthright citizenship "do not acknowledge political reality."

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