Congress should restrict birthright citizenship, House speaker says

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said in a July 5 Fox News interview that Congress should take up a legislative effort to curtail birthright citizenship in the wake of the Supreme Court striking down an executive order from President Donald Trump that sought to redefine who is an American.

The Louisiana Republican said on "Fox News Sunday" that the current immigration system is being abused by "birthright tourism" and said that the practice has "devalued" citizenship.

"It's a threat to the rule of law and national security. We do need to address it," Johnson said.

He did not say what piece of legislation would address the matter but that Republicans are "looking at all angles."

"If there is a bill that can fix that, we'll advance that immediately," Johnson said.

President Donald Trump called on Congress to pass legislation in the wake of his loss at the high court, claiming that "No long and unwieldy Constitutional Amendment is necessary!"

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said children born to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily in the United States satisfy the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment, which states, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

A majority of justices found that birthright citizenship is constitutionally protected under the 14th Amendment. Amending the Constitution would require support from two-thirds of both chambers of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of the nation's state legislatures.

In a concurring opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said Congress could establish exceptions to birthright citizenship for children born to people in the country illegally.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, and Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, two Trump allies, introduced legislation last year to ban birthright citizenship. The bill acknowledges the right of birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment but narrows the definition of persons who are "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States.

What is 'birth tourism'?

"Birth tourism" is the name authorities give to the practice of parents traveling briefly to the United States to deliver children so the child obtains U.S. citizenship.

The number of babies born to birth tourists in the U.S. is highly disputed because the government does not track the figures. Estimates from researchers have varied from as high as 39,000 annually to as low as 2,000.

But a group of 140 university professors told the Supreme Court in a written argument that birth tourism "accounts for an infinitesimal proportion of children" born in the U.S.

Republicans and Democrats disagree about the importance of acting to curtail birth tourism, with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, previously calling it a "blatant abuse of our immigration laws" while Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, saying it was a "pretty marginal issue."

Johnson suggests new route for SAVE America Act

In the same interview July 5, Johnson said that he will attempt to pass the SAVE America Act, a Trump-backed election reform bill, through budget reconciliation.

"We're going to try one more time on a budget reconciliation bill, and I think that will be the way to get it through the Senate, and finally to the president's desk," Johnson said.

The bill and other House business stalled after a group of Republicans, led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Florida, revolted on a procedural motion that led to the chamber being put to recess.

"I just decided it was best to send everybody home to go celebrate July Fourth in their districts. We'll come back, gather everybody together," Johnson said on Fox News. "The big urgency is to get SAVE America passed. The president has that as a top priority, and so do I."

The strict rules in the Senate around budget reconciliation have already prevented the bill from being a part of previous reconciliation bills. Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled earlier this year that the bill violated rules that prevent "extraneous" legislation from being included in the budget process under reconciliation, according to CNN.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Congress should restrict birthright citizenship, House speaker says

Reporting by James Powel, Bart Jansen and Joey Garrison, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published July 6, 2026 at 8:12 AM.