Republican Representative Steve King introduced a bill on Wednesday to end birthright citizenship. So far, King’s bill has three co-sponsors listed: Reps. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), Gary Miller (R-Calif.) and Rob Woodall (R-Ga.).
The bill will amend section 301 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to define classes of individuals born in the US making for some children to be classified as nationals and some as citizens.
It is generally accepted that the 14th amendment provides a constitutional guarantee of citizenship for anyone born in the US, but King has gone on record as saying he does not interpret the amendment that way.
King is a senior Republican on the immigration subcommittee in the House Judiciary Committee. However, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, told Politico last year that issues like birthright citizenship will “not [be] our initial focus” in the committee.
“The focus is on creating jobs and protecting jobs,” Smith said, adding that he would first take up issues like expanding E-Verify, a voluntary electronic system for checking the immigration status of workers that’s supported by President Obama.
