To clarify United States birthright citizenship laws in the territories and combat foreign nationals who are seeking citizenship in the United States territories.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · July 16, 2026
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
This bill would end automatic birthright citizenship in four U.S. territories—Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—effective January 1, 2027. Currently, people born in these territories automatically receive U.S. citizenship; the bill would eliminate this automatic citizenship for anyone born after December 31, 2026, though it would preserve citizenship for children of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents born in the territories. The legislation argues Congress has constitutional authority under the Insular Cases legal precedents to change citizenship rules in U.S. territories and frames the change as addressing concerns about foreign nationals seeking citizenship through births in the territories. The bill contains no new funding provisions and would affect all future births in these four territories after the January 1, 2027 effective date, potentially leaving hundreds of thousands of territory residents without automatic citizenship status.
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