Senator Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., is calling for the State Department and Homeland Security to revoke citizenship documentation issued to children born in the United States to foreign diplomats. This action comes as Schmitt also champions the American Citizenship Act, legislation designed to restrict birthright citizenship.
Schmitt asserted in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin that for over a century, established policy has held that children born in the U.S. to accredited foreign diplomatic officers are not subject to U.S. jurisdiction and thus do not acquire citizenship at birth. He contends that despite this, such children have obtained birth certificates and other documents supporting U.S. citizenship claims, suggesting a lack of adequate safeguards.
"Foreign diplomats’ children using improperly procured citizenship documentation to illegally claim citizenship degrades the meaning of American citizenship, undermines our sovereignty, and threatens our national security," Schmitt stated in his letter. He urged the agencies to investigate these alleged improper grants, prevent future occurrences, identify recipients, and revoke unlawfully obtained documentation. Schmitt cited public reporting and legal scholarship suggesting thousands of such cases.
Schmitt's legislative push, the American Citizenship Act, aims to modify the interpretation of the 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause. The bill seeks to limit birthright citizenship to children born to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. Schmitt introduced the bill following the Supreme Court's June 30 decision in Trump v. Barbara, which affirmed that children born in the U.S. to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are citizens at birth, thereby blocking a previous executive order by President Trump that sought to deny citizenship to such children.
"SCOTUS got birthright citizenship dangerously wrong," Schmitt wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "I'm filing the American Citizenship Act to start the process of restoring the 14th Amendment's original meaning. My bill restores the original understanding to prevent birthright citizenship for illegal aliens and tourists."
Schmitt, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, has made birthright citizenship a central issue. He previously supported Trump's executive order and led an amicus brief on the matter. He argued that the Supreme Court's recent ruling strengthens the case for congressional action to clarify the amendment's original intent. Civil liberties groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, have opposed efforts to restrict birthright citizenship, asserting that the 14th Amendment unequivocally grants citizenship to all born in the U.S.