Congress moves to strip birthright citizenship from U.S.-born children
H.R. 9662 — Birthright CLAIM Act of 2026 · Filed by W. Steube (R-FL) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Jul 14, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill narrows birthright citizenship by denying automatic U.S. citizenship at birth to children born in the U.S. if both parents are non-citizens and at least one was unlawfully present or held a non-permanent visa status. It also requires DNA paternity testing (at parental expense) before issuing citizenship documents to children whose mothers are unlawfully present and whose fathers claim citizenship or permanent residency, blocking passports and Social Security numbers until testing is complete.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to narrow the scope of automatic citizenship at birth for children of non-citizen parents, particularly those unlawfully present. It is fundamentally a citizenship-eligibility restriction, not an enforcement or procedural measure.
What the text implies
- Children born in the U.S. to non-citizen parents would be born stateless or with uncertain citizenship status, creating a permanent underclass of U.S.-born residents without full legal standing.
- Mandatory DNA testing creates a de facto registry of non-citizen parents and their children, with testing costs borne by families already in precarious legal positions.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
DNA testing laboratories (accredited by HHS/DHS); Immigration enforcement contractors; Legal services firms specializing in citizenship disputes