'It's insane': GOP senator says Supreme Court birthright ruling hands China a citizenship loophole
Schmitt Pushes Multi-Pronged Approach to Address Birthright Citizenship Ruling
A Missouri senator is rallying behind a three-tiered strategy to counteract the Supreme Court's recent decision on birthright citizenship, arguing the ruling poses significant national security risks for the United States.
Senator Eric Schmitt, a Republican, voiced strong concerns about the court's 6-3 decision in an interview this week, warning that it leaves the nation exposed to potential exploitation by foreign adversaries, particularly China.
"I want to get this done because I really believe that the future of our country is on the line," Schmitt said. "We can't have Chinese generals sending their wives to this country to give birth and going back for 18 years and coming back and being citizens. It's insane."
The Supreme Court's decision effectively interpreted the 14th Amendment's provision that all persons born in the United States and "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" are citizens. The majority concluded this language grants automatic citizenship to nearly all children born on American soil.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a concurring opinion, offered what Schmitt views as a legislative pathway. Kavanaugh wrote that Congress could "consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment — amend or otherwise enact new legislation establishing exceptions to birthright citizenship for children born to foreign citizens unlawfully or temporarily in the country."
Schmitt is now proposing a comprehensive response spanning multiple time horizons.
"The short-term is executive action, the medium-term is our legislative action that we could take, and then the long-term solution is the constitutional amendment," Schmitt explained. "I think we should pursue all of those."
His legislative proposal would amend the 14th Amendment by adding language specifying that citizenship does not extend to those "not subject to a foreign power." Schmitt contends this would align the constitutional text with what he believes was the original intent of the framers and could provide grounds for courts to revisit the recent decision.
"Congress has clarified it," Schmitt said of his proposed legislation.
However, any bill faces formidable obstacles in the Senate. The 60-vote threshold required to overcome a filibuster means Schmitt would need support from at least some Democratic senators to advance any measure restricting birthright citizenship.
To make his case, Schmitt pointed to historical precedent, noting that former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sponsored legislation in 1993 — the Immigration Stabilization Act — that similarly sought to limit citizenship for children of unauthorized immigrants born in the United States.
"It wasn't that long ago that Harry Reid actually had legislation to deal with this issue," Schmitt said. "And so, you know, are the Democrats going to be a party that learned their lesson from the Biden years where they were open borders and they let 15 to 20 million people here illegally?"
Schmitt characterized the current Democratic position as one that undermines national sovereignty.
"They don't believe in sovereignty that we can tell people who can come and who can go," he continued. "Is that who they are, or are they gonna make a shift more towards where the American people are at?"
The senator's push comes as Republicans across Capitol Hill mount a broader effort to address what some party members describe as a multibillion-dollar loophole in the nation's immigration system. Schmitt's approach, combining immediate executive authority with medium-term legislation and long-term constitutional change, reflects a comprehensive strategy that acknowledges the complexities of overturning or modifying a Supreme Court ruling on a constitutional amendment provision.
