The Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s effort to narrow birthright citizenship, prompting a Republican senator to pursue legislative changes to the Fourteenth Amendment.
Senator Eric Schmitt sent a letter to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security requesting an investigation into citizenship documentation issued to children of foreign diplomats.
He noted that for more than a century, statutory law, judicial precedent, and executive policy have treated children born to accredited diplomatic officers as outside the jurisdiction required for automatic citizenship.
The senator’s request calls for agencies to examine alleged illegal grants of citizenship documents, establish safeguards to prevent future occurrences, identify recipients, and revoke improperly issued documentation.
Schmitt introduced the American Citizenship Act, legislation that would restrict birthright citizenship to children of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.
The Court’s June 30 decision in Trump v. Barbara affirmed that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present are citizens at birth, thereby blocking the president’s executive order.
Schmitt argues that the ruling departs from the original meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment and endangers the integrity of American citizenship.
Federal policy has long recognized that diplomatic children do not acquire citizenship at birth, though they may later obtain lawful permanent residence.
According to the senator, despite this policy, some diplomatic children have obtained birth certificates, Social Security numbers, and other documents that facilitate citizenship claims.
He warns that such improper documentation undermines national sovereignty and security.
As chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Schmitt has centered birthright citizenship in his agenda and previously supported an amicus brief backing the executive order.
Civil liberties organizations contend that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees citizenship to all children born on U.S. soil, irrespective of parental status.
Schmitt maintains that congressional action is required to restore the amendment’s original intent and protect the nation’s foundational values.
The White House did not immediately respond to inquiries.
