US Senator James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma and an opponent of Puerto Rico statehood, introduced legislation on September 30 to limit the right to US citizenship by birth in unincorporated US territories, including Puerto Rico. The measure would exclude from US citizenship by birth anyone born in a US territory to a mother not legally present and a father who is not a US citizen or lawful permanent resident.
This move is part of a broader effort, initiated by former President Donald Trump and blocked by the US Supreme Court, to limit access to citizenship for children of people with irregular immigration status or those not permanently in the US. In the House of Representatives, Republican Morgan Griffith of Virginia introduced a similar bill, which would exclude from citizenship by birth children of people born in US territories who are not US citizens or do not have permanent residence authorization.
Neither bill is expected to advance in the current Congressional session. Neil Weare, co-director of the organization Right to Democracy, noted that these bills are incompatible with the recent US Supreme Court decision that a child born on US soil and subject to US law is a US citizen. Adi Martínez, a Puerto Rican and co-director of Right to Democracy, stated that this legislation is an example of the federal government taking unilateral actions in US territories without consulting the communities.
Griffith argued that his legislation would highlight Congress’s power to decide who is a US citizen in unincorporated territories, which include Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.