U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said he will keep pushing legislation and a constitutional amendment after the Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship in a 5-4 decision.
Based on a release from U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he is disappointed in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in Trump v. Barbara upholding birthright citizenship, according to a statement from his office.
“While I’m disappointed in the Court’s decision regarding birthright citizenship, I am determined more than ever to put an end to this major magnet for illegal immigration and birth tourism,” Graham said, according to the statement.
Graham said the United States is among a small number of countries that grant citizenship to anyone born on its soil regardless of their parents’ legal status. He said industries have developed to help families, including those from what he called adversarial nations like China, travel to the U.S. so their children can be born as American citizens.
“Birthright tourism is offensive to me, and it is offensive to the concept of American citizenship,” Graham said, according to the statement.
Graham said he disagrees with the Supreme Court’s interpretation that children of people in the country illegally or only temporarily are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States under the 14th Amendment. He said there should be two pathways to citizenship: birth under the 14th Amendment and naturalization.
Graham said he will continue pushing to change the policy, which he said would align the United States with most of the modern world. He said the issue will be one of his top priorities if he becomes chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee next year, according to the statement.
