Amendment would strip birthright citizenship from children of undocumented immigrants
H.J.Res. 172 — Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to protect United States citizenship. · Filed by Clay Fuller (R-GA) · 6 cosponsors · Introduced May 4, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment that would narrow the definition of 'subject to the jurisdiction of the United States' in the 14th Amendment. Under current law, anyone born on U.S. soil is automatically a citizen (birthright citizenship). This amendment would restrict that to children born to at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or an alien serving in the military. Children born to undocumented immigrants or other non-status aliens would no longer automatically become citizens.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to amend the 14th Amendment to narrow the scope of automatic citizenship at birth. It redefines 'subject to the jurisdiction' to exclude children born to undocumented immigrants, fundamentally altering who qualifies for birthright citizenship.
What the text implies
- Creates a new category of persons born in the U.S. who are not citizens, potentially stateless or dependent on parental immigration status for legal standing.
- Shifts burden of proof: children would need to establish parental status at birth to claim citizenship, rather than citizenship being automatic.
- May create administrative and legal complexity in determining citizenship status of newborns, requiring documentation of parental immigration status at birth.
- Could affect millions of children born to undocumented immigrants annually; estimates suggest 200,000+ births per year to undocumented parents in the U.S.
- Requires ratification by 38 states; even if passed by Congress, faces significant state-level political hurdles and potential legal challenges on equal protection grounds.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The amendment strips birthright citizenship from a defined class of people born in the United States, eliminating a constitutional right that has existed for 150+ years. While framed as 'protecting' citizenship, it actually narrows who can claim it, creating a new category of stateless or non-citizen persons born in the country.
Named in the bill
U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, 14th Amendment, Mr. Fuller (sponsor)
Where it stands
6 cosponsors: 6 Republicans.
- May 4, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- May 4, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,696 characters) on May 7, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Amendment would strip birthright citizenship from children of undocumented immigrants” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hjres172 Report an error
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