The Supreme Court has rejected President Trump’s executive order to restrict birthright citizenship, but one of his own appointees, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, has handed Republicans a blueprint for pursuing much of the same goal through Congress. In a concurring opinion, Kavanaugh argued that the court should have resolved the case under federal law rather than the Constitution, laying out a potential legislative path for Congress to pursue changes to birthright citizenship.

Legislative Path Forward

Kavanaugh suggested that Congress could rewrite the law to limit birthright citizenship for children born to parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily. He argued that large-scale illegal immigration and modern international travel have created circumstances the Reconstruction Congress never envisioned, giving Congress room to establish new exceptions to birthright citizenship.

Several Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Sen. Rand Paul, have seized on the idea that any future effort to limit birthright citizenship would have to come through Congress rather than the White House. Trump has argued that Congress could change birthright citizenship through legislation instead of a constitutional amendment.

Constitutional Amendment

However, some Republicans, including Sen. Mike Lee, have called for a constitutional amendment to explicitly exclude foreign nationals who break U.S. laws or exploit loopholes to make their families American. The Justice Department has indicated it will shift tactics, announcing a crackdown on birth tourism by targeting alleged visa fraud and related criminal conduct.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.