Rep. Brandon Gill introduced a bill which would help curb birthright citizenship by reclassifying illegal alien birth tourists as invaders and amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to exclude their children from birthright citizenship. Called the Citizenship Act of 2026, corresponding legislation has also been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Jim Banks.
“To declare that any person who enters the United States without authorization or for the purpose of engaging in birth tourism is considered an invader and to amend section 301(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to exclude the children of invaders from birthright citizenship,” the bill on the Senate website said.
While the legislation would not fully annul birthright citizenship, it would prevent the practice from being exercised by illegal aliens.
“The Constitution was never intended to reward unlawful entry by automatically granting citizenship to the children of those who invaded our country,” Gill told the Daily Caller. “If we are serious about recognizing that our nation has been invaded, then our laws should reflect that reality. We should not extend one of the greatest privileges our nation can bestow—American citizenship—to the children of those who entered our country unlawfully as part of that invasion. I’m proud to introduce the Citizenship Act in the House to remedy our code of law.”
Illegal aliens have already been referred to as invaders by top officials in the U.S. government.
During his second inaugural address, President Donald Trump described the situation at the southern border as a “disastrous invasion.”
“First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border,” Trump said in January 2025. “All illegal entry will immediately be halted and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came. We will reinstate my Remain in Mexico policy. I will end the practice of catch and release. And I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott formally declared an invasion at the Texas/Mexican border in 2022.
“The governor has rooted his assessment and consequent orders to Texas military and law enforcement in the United States Constitution’s Article I, Section 10. That passage states, in part, that ‘No State shall … engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.’ With this in mind, it’s worth exploring what the Founders meant by ‘actually invaded,’ and what they understood invasion to be,” The Daily Caller said in 2022.
While aliens giving birth in the U.S. is not illegal in and of itself, lying on immigration documents and committing fraud is.
China runs one of the largest birth tourism schemes against the U.S. with an industrial-level birth tourism market.
In June the U.S. embassy in Beijing announced a crackdown on Chinese birth tourism schemes:
Under President Trump, the State Department is defending the integrity of U.S. citizenship by ending illegal birth tourism schemes. No foreigner is permitted to obtain a visitor visa for the primary purpose of acquiring U.S. citizenship for a child by giving birth in the U.S.
A U.S. embassy in West Africa uncovered a sophisticated birth tourism network of more than 100 foreign nationals using fraudulent documents and visa “fixers” to get themselves visas in order to get U.S. citizenship for their children.
We shut it down, revoked these foreign nationals’ visas, and are coordinating with local authorities to systematically identify and cut off any similar operations.
On Tuesday Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order cracking down on birth tourism fraud.
“Texas will not tolerate the exploitation of our immigration laws by individuals traveling to the U.S. illegally or under false pretenses to give birth and secure citizenship for their child,” Abbott said in a statement. “This executive order directs state agencies to investigate birth tourism schemes and hold accountable any provider that facilitates this fraud.”
Rep. Randy Fine introduced legislation which would levy criminal penalties on foreigners who travel to the U.S. solely for the birth of their child.
“What we need to do to work around this situation is make it extremely unpleasant for people to come to the United States to create an anchor baby,” Fine said. “And to anyone who disrespects our nation that much that would come here in order to create a paperwork American, should go to prison and should never be able to come to America ever again.”
Similar to Gill’s bill, Fine’s bill would not annul birthright citizenship, but it would help curb the practice by making it more difficult to take advantage of.
“The bill would not eliminate birthright citizenship. Instead, it would impose prison terms of 10 to 25 years on adults who are neither U.S. citizens nor lawful permanent residents and who travel to or facilitate travel to the United States for the purpose of giving birth,” Fox News said Wednesday. “A federal judge would also be required to issue an order of deportation against those parents which, in theory, would make it significantly harder for that child to stay within the country.”
In June talkshow host Jack Posobiec discussed the legislative route to end birthright citizenship following the Supreme Court ruling upholding the practice.
