H.R. 569: Birthright Citizenship Act of 2025

H.R. 569, the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2025, rewrites the federal statute that decides who is a citizen at birth. The 14th Amendment grants citizenship to people born here and "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States. The bill defines that phrase for the first time in statute.

A child born in the United States after the bill becomes law would be a citizen at birth only if at least one parent falls into one of three groups. Those groups are U.S. citizens or nationals, green card holders whose residence is in the United States, and people with lawful immigration status serving on active duty in the armed forces.

Everyone outside those groups is left out, whether or not they are here legally. That includes the children of undocumented immigrants, but also babies born to two parents on student visas, H-1B work visas, or tourist visas, and to refugees, asylees, or people with Temporary Protected Status who have not yet received green cards.

Anyone born before the bill takes effect keeps the citizenship they already have. The bill does not say what status a newly excluded child would hold instead, or how hospitals and agencies would confirm a parent's status at birth.

The bill opens by "acknowledging" the 14th Amendment's guarantee, and sponsors contend that Congress can define who is subject to U.S. jurisdiction by ordinary law. Opponents point to the Supreme Court's 1898 decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which recognized the citizenship of a U.S.-born son of Chinese immigrants, and argue only a constitutional amendment could make this change.