On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that birthright citizenship was first created for "children of slaves" rather than for people from all over the world to come to the country and apply for citizenship. 

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order trying to end birthright citizenship, but a federal court in Seattle blocked the order the next day. Despite this, Trump has said he plans to appeal, confident that the Supreme Court will rule in his favour. "Birthright citizenship was, if you look back at when this was established, meant for the children of slaves. It was not intended for people worldwide to enter and take advantage of the United States," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Additionally, he criticised the present immigration policy, saying that unqualified people and their offspring were profiting from a system that was never intended for them. "This was meant for the children of slaves, and it was a very good and noble thing to do," he said. "I support that 100 per cent, but it was not designed for the whole world to come and occupy the United States." Trump further said, "I believe we will win this case in the Supreme Court. At that level, we are the only country in the world that follows this practice." 

A group of Republican senators, including Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, and Katie Britt, have introduced a new bill in the US Senate to limit birthright citizenship. Their proposal aims to prevent children of illegal immigrants and those on temporary visas from automatically becoming US citizens. The senators argue that the current policy encourages illegal immigration and poses a risk to national security. Currently, the US is one of 33 countries that grant birthright citizenship without restrictions. 

As per the Centre for Immigration Studies, in 2023, around 225,000 to 250,000 babies were born to illegal immigrants in the US, making up nearly 7% of all births that year. According to the recently proposed Birthright Citizenship Act of 2025, children who have at least one parent who is a US citizen or national, a lawful permanent resident, or a member of the military forces are the only ones eligible for citizenship by birth. Only children born after the law's passage would be covered by it.