A new bill introduced in the U.S. Senate seeks to restrict automatic American citizenship for certain children born in the Virgin Islands and other U.S. territories, adding a second congressional proposal to a debate over territorial birthright citizenship that V.I. Consortium first examined in July.
The legislation, introduced September 30 by Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, would withhold citizenship at birth from children born in U.S. territories when their mothers are not lawfully present and their fathers are neither U.S. citizens nor lawful permanent residents.
Known as the Ending Birthright Citizenship in U.S. Territories Act, Senate Bill 5667 was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee on the day of its introduction. It has not been approved by either chamber of Congress and has not become law.
The proposal differs substantially from legislation introduced in July by Republican Representative Morgan Griffith of Virginia. While the House bill would directly amend the laws establishing citizenship at birth in the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, the Senate measure instead targets a general provision of federal immigration law.
Senate Proposal Targets Children Based on Parents' Immigration Status
Lankford's bill proposes amending Section 301(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1401(a).
That provision recognizes as citizens at birth people born in the United States who are subject to its jurisdiction. For purposes of the immigration statute, the geographic definition of the United States includes Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands, in addition to the states.
The Senate proposal would insert an exclusion for children born in a U.S. territory when two conditions are present: the mother is not lawfully present in the territory, and the father is neither an American citizen nor a lawful permanent resident.
Both conditions would have to apply for the proposed exclusion to take effect under that section.
For example, the language would target a child born in the Virgin Islands to a mother who is unlawfully present and a father who lacks both American citizenship and permanent resident status. However, it would not exclude a child under that provision solely because the mother was unlawfully present if the father was an American citizen or lawful permanent resident.
Similarly, the proposed language does not expressly target a child whose mother is lawfully present in the territory, even if neither parent is an American citizen.
The legislation consists of two sections establishing its title and the proposed amendment to federal citizenship law. It does not include a delayed implementation date or detailed procedures for determining the immigration status of parents.
Earlier House Bill Proposes January 2027 Cutoff
The Senate legislation follows a separate proposal introduced July 16 by Griffith, which V.I. Consortium reported on July 20.
That measure, H.R. 9724, is titled the End Birthright Citizenship for Territories Act. It would amend the federal citizenship provisions governing the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands by inserting a January 1, 2027 cutoff into the existing statutory language.
For the Virgin Islands, the House proposal would change the provision recognizing citizenship for people born in the territory on or after February 25, 1927, by adding language limiting that recognition to births occurring before January 1, 2027.
The bill contains a separate provision stating that the changes would not affect anyone born before that date. It also states that children born in the territories to U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents would retain citizenship protections.
However, the amendments establishing the cutoff dates do not themselves include those parental-status exceptions.
That discrepancy prompted concern from Neil Weare, co-director of the territorial-rights organization Right to Democracy, who warned in VIC's earlier reporting that the House measure's operative language could extend beyond the exceptions described elsewhere in the bill.
Weare said the amendments “do not contain any limiting language and could deny citizenship to anyone born in a territory moving forward.”
The Senate proposal takes a narrower approach in its wording, identifying the parental immigration circumstances under which citizenship would be withheld rather than establishing a general cutoff date for the existing territorial provisions.
Unlike the House measure, it contains no January 1, 2027 deadline. It also does not propose ending citizenship at birth for every child born in the territories after a specified date.
Congressional Proposals Remain in Committee
The two measures come amid a broader national debate over birthright citizenship, including efforts by President Donald Trump's administration and Republican lawmakers to restrict automatic citizenship for certain children born to noncitizens.
Griffith's House legislation also cites Congress's authority under the Constitution's Territory Clause and references the Insular Cases, a series of Supreme Court decisions concerning the constitutional treatment of U.S. territories.
The Senate bill does not include those arguments. It instead proposes a direct amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act identifying the circumstances under which certain children born in the territories would be excluded from citizenship at birth.
Neither measure has advanced beyond the committee stage. H.R. 9724 was referred to the House Judiciary and Natural Resources committees, while S. 5667 remains before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Both proposals would require congressional approval and the president's signature, or enactment through a congressional override of a veto, before becoming law.
For now, neither bill changes the citizenship rights of children born in the Virgin Islands or any other U.S. territory.
