Senator Rand Paul Proposes Constitutional Amendment to End Automatic Birthright Citizenship

If ratified, children born in the U.S. to undocumented parents would no longer automatically receive U.S. citizenship. This would be a transformative change, potentially creating a growing population of people born on U.S. soil who lack citizenship and the rights and protections that come with it, including the right to vote, access to certain public benefits, and protection from deportation.

Visa holders on temporary status (such as student visas, work visas, or tourist visas) who have children born in the U.S. would see those children denied automatic citizenship. This affects a wide range of legal visitors and temporary workers whose children currently receive birthright citizenship.

Naturalized citizens would not lose any rights, as their U.S.-born children would still be citizens. However, the amendment could affect extended family members who are undocumented or on temporary visas. The broader change to how citizenship works could also shape public attitudes toward immigrant-origin communities in ways that are hard to predict.

Lawful permanent residents (green card holders) living in the U.S. are explicitly included as a qualifying parent category. Their children born in the U.S. would still receive citizenship. This preserves the current status quo for this group, though it now creates a formal distinction between them and other immigrants.

The amendment carves out a special category for legal immigrants serving in the Armed Forces, ensuring their U.S.-born children would still receive citizenship. This recognizes military service as a path tied to citizenship rights, though relatively few people would fall into this specific category.