Babin Bashes 'Birthright Citizenship Act' or 'Birth Tourism'

Texas Representative Brian Babin (R) released a statement regarding his bill, the “Birthright Citizenship Act of 2023” (H.R. 6612). According to the bill’s main sponsor, it was written to combat a concept known as “birth tourism”.

Birth tourism is the practice of a non-resident woman traveling outside of her country of origin to give birth in another country in order to gain citizenship for that child in the country of the child's birth.

“For a period following its enactment, Section 1 of the 14th Amendment was properly applied as written and intended: to ensure all American citizens were afforded the sacred constitutional protections they deserve,” said Congressman Brian Babin, House Border Security Caucus Co-chair.

“While these important protections remain, in recent decades, the misapplication of specific language in the amendment has led to the implementation of the practice of birthright citizenship by which children born to foreign nationals – from illegal migrants to tourists to refugees – are automatically granted United States citizenship.”

Rep. Babin claimed that the application of birthright citizenship had been misused and that it improperly interpreted the Constitution.

“Birthright citizenship has long served as a powerful incentive for illegal immigration, and, over time, has become wrongly accepted as law, with supporters claiming it is guaranteed by our Constitution. Birthright citizenship is enabled by faulty legal application, and ending the practice by clarifying eligibility is a necessary step toward fixing our broken immigration system and stopping the continued exploitation of America’s generosity. We must act to put an end to this misguided policy that has fueled the worsening border crisis and weakened our national sovereignty for far too long. I appreciate my colleagues’ support of this important bill and hope to move it swiftly through the House of Representatives.”

Fellow Texas Congressman and co-sponsor Chip Roy (R) shared his approval of the bill which looks to curb the amount of citizenships being given to American-born children of illegal migrant workers.

“Every year, thousands of migrants enter the country illegally and give birth knowing their children will reap the benefits of their parents’ lawbreaking — the rights, privileges, and immunities of U.S. citizenship,” said Congressman Chip Roy (TX-21).

“It’s time to end this unfair, extraconstitutional practice that incentivizes illegal border crossings. The Birthright Citizenship Act — which I am proud to cosponsor with my friend and fellow Texan, Brian Babin — ensures children born in the U.S. to illegal alien parents do not automatically receive American citizenship.”

Florida Representative Byron Donalds (R) blamed the Biden administration for what he viewed as a mishandling of legislation surrounding immigration and citizenship.

“The expressed distinction of United States citizenship is a gift that is too often taken for granted by the American people,” said Congressman Byron Donalds (FL-19).

“As a result of Joe Biden’s disastrous mishandling of our nation’s borders, the United States has descended into an unprecedented humanitarian and national security crisis, in which illegal aliens are systematically exploiting our legal immigration system through the explosion of birth tourism. Simply put, birthright citizenship should only be reserved for United States citizens, legal permanent residents of the United States, and legal immigrants serving in the United States military.”

Border security has been a major concern in Congress. Recently, Texas Representative Dan Crenshaw (R) lambasted President Joe Biden (D) for his perceived lack of action on the border.

In a tweet, Rep. Crenshaw made his feelings clear about Biden and Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas’s handling of the thousands of migrant workers entering the border.

“17,500 illegal immigrants in one week. That’s over 2,000 a day. Over 100 every hour. And yet not a peep from @POTUS or @SecMayorkas.”