• Since 1898, the 14th Amendment has been interpreted as guaranteeing birthright citizenship, meaning that all children born in the U.S. are American citizens — regardless of their parents’ immigration status. The amendment reads: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” [NPR, 1/23/25; BBC, 2/5/25]
• On the first day of Trump’s return to the presidency, he signed an executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship. If the order is implemented, children born in the U.S. would only automatically become citizens if their parents are citizens or lawful permanent residents. The children of undocumented immigrants and the children of people here legally on temporary work, student, or tourism visas would no longer be granted birthright citizenship. [White House, 1/20/25; NPR, 1/20/25; NBC News, 1/22/25]
• Trump’s executive order is already facing at least five lawsuits from 22 states and has been temporarily blocked by multiple federal judges. U.S. District Judge John Coughenour called the order “blatantly unconstitutional” and issued a temporary restraining order to stop it from taking effect. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman later issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against Trump's executive order, saying it “conflicts with the plain language of the 14th Amendment." [NPR, 1/21/25; AP News, 1/23/25; ABC News, 2/5/25]

Right-wing media figures seized on Trump’s false claim that the U.S. is the only country that recognizes birthright citizenship, repeatedly amplifying it without fact-checking.

• Fox Noticias co-host Julie Banderas falsely claimed that the U.S. is “the only country that grants birthright citizenship.” She also questioned if eliminating birthright citizenship would deter undocumented immigrants from coming here and giving birth in order to become citizens. [Fox Deportes, Fox Noticias, 1/22/25]
• Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo didn’t correct Rep. Mark Green (R-TX) when he claimed no other countries have birthright citizenship. Green said, “Progressive liberals that are out there that want to sue President Trump for saying, ‘We get to decide as a nation who becomes an American.’ No country on the world just says, ‘Hey, if you’re born here you’re,’ you know. It’s ridiculous.” Bartiromo responded, “Yeah, it’s also actually quite extraordinary.” [Fox Business, Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, 1/22/25]
• One America News host Chanel Rion claimed that birthright citizenship is “a practice solely found in the United States.” Rion said, “Birthright citizenship, the automatic granting of citizenship if one is born on U.S. soil, is, in fact, a practice solely found in the United States, as you heard from President Trump. We are the only country that does it.” [OANN, Fine Point with Chanel Rion, 2/3/25]

• Dozens of countries, including Canada and many Central and South American countries, recognize unrestricted birthright citizenship. Many other countries grant birthright citizenship with restrictions — for example, by granting birthright citizenship only to the children of legal residents. [Library of Congress, 11/2018; NPR, 1/23/25; Time, 1/23/25]

Right-wing media figures stated (without evidence) that having children in the U.S. is a foolproof way for undocumented immigrants to avoid deportation or even become citizens.

• Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy claimed that if a child is born in the U.S. “that would essentially establish citizenship for the whole family.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 1/22/25]
• Doocy later stated that when a child gets birthright citizenship, “the next thing you know they bring in the whole family.” Doocy said, “So this kid was born in the United States, he's an American citizen. What about the mom? Well, let’s make the mom a citizen, too. Oh, and the dad.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 1/22/25]
• Rob Schmitt claimed that “everybody is gaming our very, very easy system to get an anchor into this country and get citizenship for their families forever.” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, 1/27/25]
• Fox & Friends co-host Lawrence Jones claimed that undocumented migrants having children with birthright citizenship “make[s] it difficult for ICE agents to do their job.” In response, Senior Adviser to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Ron Vitiello clarified that immigrants with U.S. citizen children can still be taken into ICE custody. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 1/27/25]
• Former federal prosecutor Jonathan Fahey argued on Fox & Friends First that Trump’s executive order “creates a seriousness” and “deterrence” for people who “have a child then the child gets to stay and then thereby you get to stay in almost most circumstances.” Fahey complained that the 14th Amendment lets “anyone game the system.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends First, 1/21/25]
• Fox anchor John Roberts did not correct border czar Tom Homan when he suggested having children in the U.S. shields immigrants from deportation. Homan said, “One of the first things that an illegal alien does when they get here is give birth to a U.S. citizen child, because they think that makes them immune from our laws, right? …  We can't send that message to the whole world that you can enter our country illegally — which is a crime — you commit another crime, and you can even get removed by an immigration judge after expensive due process, but if you have a U.S. citizen child you’re off the hook.” [Fox News, America Reports, 1/21/25]

• The immigrant parents of children born in the U.S. must wait for their child to turn 21 in order to get green cards and then wait another 5 years before they can become citizens. Children born in the U.S. have to wait until they turn 21 before they can petition for their parents to receive green cards. At that point, if the parents of a U.S. citizen are still living in the U.S. they will likely only be eligible for green cards if they were “inspected and admitted” or “inspected and paroled” by an immigration officer when they entered the country. This means that if the parents of a U.S. citizen did not lawfully enter the country through a port of entry, weren’t honest with immigration officers about their immigration status, or weren’t lawfully admitted into the country, they may be denied lawful permanent resident status. If the parent of a U.S. citizen 21 or over does meet the requirements to receive a green card, they face an additional five years of waiting before they may apply for citizenship. [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, accessed 2/6/25, accessed 2/6/25; USAGov, accessed 2/6/25]
• Having U.S. citizen children does not protect undocumented immigrants from deportation. According to the American Immigration Council, “From 2013 to 2018, ICE deported more than 231,000 people who reported having at least one U.S.-citizen child. In 2019, ICE deported 27,980 people with U.S.-born children.” This practice continues today, as Trump has explicitly stated that he intends to deport immigrants with U.S. citizen children as part of his mass deportation operation. [American Immigration Council, 6/24/21; NBC News, 12/8/24; Department of Homeland Security, 10/4/21]

Right-wing media have misleadingly discussed Trump’s executive order as if it would only preclude the children of undocumented migrants from receiving birthright citizenship, not the children of people here legally.

• Newsmax host Greta Van Susteren stated that Trump’s executive order applies to “children of illegal immigrants” and read only the section of the order that applies to undocumented immigrants, skipping sections that apply to legal visa holders. Van Susteren said, “The White House putting out a release that reads, quote, ‘No department or agency of the United States government shall issue documents recognizing U.S. citizenship when that person's mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the person's father was not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person's birth.’” Van Susteren failed to read the following line of the executive order, which reads “or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States was lawful but temporary, and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.” [Newsmax, The Record with Greta Van Susteren, 1/21/25; White House, 1/20/25]
• Fox News anchor Bret Baier said Trump’s executive order “deals with birthright citizenship, an illegal immigrant who come to the country, give birth, and then that child becomes a U.S. citizen.” Baier made no mention of how Trump’s executive order would impact the children of legal immigrants. [Fox News, America Reports, 1/22/25]
• Fox Business host Stuart Varney said, “Trump's order would refuse to recognize the citizenship of children born in America to illegals.” Varney did not mention that Trump’s order also refuses to recognize the citizenship of children born in the U.S. to people here on temporary visas. [Fox Business, Varney & Company, 1/22/25]
• Fox News host Greg Gutfeld dismissed concerns about the children of legal immigrants no longer qualifying for birthright citizenship. The Five co-host Jessica Tarlov said, “I think when Donald Trump was talking about it and disparaging people who are here, he was talking about undocumented people who come and drop their anchor babies. He wasn’t talking about people who are here on student visas, people who are here on H-1B visas.” Gutfeld responded, “You're always going to choose this weird exception. The fact is the system is being gamed. … There are things that Trump will do that I will disagree with, but the entire package is as close as you're going to get to what Americans want.” [Fox News, The Five, 1/21/25]

• Trump’s order states that children born in the U.S. do not qualify for birthright citizenship if their parents are “unlawfully present” or if their mother’s “presence in the United States at the time of said person’s birth was lawful but temporary (such as, but not limited to, visiting the United States under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program or visiting on a student, work, or tourist visa) and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident.” If the order takes effect, the children of legal visa holders (such as migrants with student or H-1B visas) would no longer be considered citizens. [White House, 1/20/25; NBC News, 1/22/25]