Schmitt presses Rubio and Mullin to revoke birth citizenship records for diplomatic children

Birthright citizenship is back in the legislative queue. Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, sent a formal letter Thursday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, demanding an investigation into what he called improper grants of citizenship documents to children of accredited foreign diplomats. The letter arrived two days after Schmitt introduced the American Citizenship Act, a bill that would limit birthright citizenship to children of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.

The legal argument in the letter

The 14th Amendment extends citizenship to persons born in the United States while "subject to the jurisdiction thereof." Federal policy, backed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, has long held that children of foreign diplomatic officers fall outside that condition because their parents are not fully subject to U.S. jurisdiction. USCIS says such children do not acquire citizenship at birth, though they may register for lawful permanent residence.

Schmitt's letter argues the rule exists on paper without adequate enforcement at the document level. Agencies, the letter states, lack procedures to flag when a newborn's parents hold diplomatic credentials before birth certificates, Social Security numbers, and related records are issued. The letter cited public reporting and legal scholarship claiming potentially thousands of diplomats' children may have received those records despite holding no birthright citizenship. Schmitt offered no independent figure; the "potentially thousands" framing is his characterization of the material cited.

What Schmitt is asking agencies to do

The letter requests that State and DHS investigate the full scope of the documentation problem, implement procedures to prevent future issuance to ineligible individuals, identify those who received records unlawfully, and revoke that documentation.

The broader congressional fight after Trump v. Barbara

The Supreme Court ruled June 30 in Trump v. Barbara that children born in the U.S. to parents who are in the country unlawfully or on temporary visas are citizens at birth under the 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause. That decision blocked President Donald Trump's executive order seeking to deny citizenship to those children.

Schmitt read the ruling as an opening for Congress rather than a closed question. He previously led an amicus brief backing Trump's executive order and announced plans for a constitutional amendment. The American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged the executive order in court, argues the 14th Amendment's citizenship guarantee cannot be rewritten by statute or executive action.

The White House had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.