End Birthright Citizenship for Territories Act

H. Morgan Griffith

Republican · VA · Representative

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

• Ralph Norman (R-SC-5)· 2026-07-21

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

2026-07-16

Source: Congress.gov

The proposal would change citizenship rules in U.S. territories like Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands by clarifying who automatically becomes a U.S. citizen at birth and making it harder for foreign nationals to gain citizenship through living in these territories. The bill aims to prevent people from moving to U.S. territories specifically to obtain American citizenship, which supporters argue has been exploited as a loophole. This would affect people born in these territories, immigrants seeking citizenship, and the territories' populations.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 9724 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 9724 To clarify United States birthright citizenship laws in the territories and combat foreign nationals who are seeking citizenship in the United States territories. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 16, 2026 Mr. Griffith introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To clarify United States birthright citizenship laws in the territories and combat foreign nationals who are seeking citizenship in the United States territories. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``End Birthright Citizenship for Territories Act''. SEC. 2 BACKGROUND. Whereas, under article IV, section 3, clause 2, the Constitution states: ``The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States;''; Whereas, Supreme Court of the United States precedents, known collectively as the Insular Cases, stands for the proposition that Congress has the power to legislate with respect to the United States territories, including citizenship status; Whereas, Congress has previously granted citizenship by statute to four of the five United States territories but not to the people of American Samoa; Whereas, the decision in Trump v. Barbara did not address or call into question any of these Insular Case based statutes; and Whereas, Congress has the inherent authority to change statutes relating to citizenship of persons born in the territories. SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON CITIZENSHIP FOR INDIVIDUALS BORN IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO. (a) In General.--Title III of the Immigration and Nationality Act section 302 (8 U.S.C. 1402) is amended by striking the comma after ``after January 13, 1941,'' and adding ``and before January 1, 2027,''. SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON CITIZENSHIP FOR INDIVIDUALS BORN IN THE TERRITORY OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS. (a) In General.--Title III of the Immigration and Nationality Act section 306 (8 U.S.C. 1402) is amended in subparagraph (b) by inserting the ``and before January 1, 2027,'' after ``after February 25, 1927,''. SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON CITIZENSHIP FOR INDIVIDUALS BORN IN THE TERRITORY OF GUAM. (a) In General.--Title III of the Immigration and Nationality Act section 307 (8 U.S.C. 1406) is amended-- (1) in subparagraph (b) by striking the parenthesis before ``whether'' and after ``1950''; (2) by adding a comma before ``whether'' and after ``1950''; and (3) by adding after ``August 1, 1950'' the following: ``and before January 1, 2027.''. SEC. 6. LIMITATION ON CITIZENSHIP FOR INDIVIDUALS BORN IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS. (a) In General.--Subchapter I--The Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, as approved under Public Law 94-241, section 303 at (48 U.S.C. 1801) is amended in subsection 303 by adding after ``and'' the following: ``before January 1, 2027, are'' and by striking ``at birth'' at the end. (b) Applicability.-- (1) The amendment made by subsection (a), (b), (c) and (d) shall not be construed to affect the citizenship or nationality status of any person born in the United States before January 1, 2027. (2) The amendment made by subsection (a), (b), (c) and (d) shall not be construed to affect the…

citizenship or nationality of a person born in the United States territories, who is born as a child of a United States citizen or the child of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States. <all>

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