Tennessee State Representative Lee Reeves (R-Franklin), who is seeking the Republican nomination in the race for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, said the first piece of legislation he plans on introducing if elected to Congress would work to end birthright citizenship for children born to illegal aliens on U.S. soil.
Reeves said his bill would require that at least one parent of a child who is born in the U.S. be a U.S. citizen to qualify for automatic citizenship, describing the current system – which grants automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. regardless of their parents’ immigration status – as a “magnet for illegal immigration and a direct affront to American sovereignty.”
“This loophole rewards lawbreaking, strains our public resources, and undermines the sacrifices of legal immigrants. As a proud ally of President Trump, I’m committed to closing it once and for all,” Reeves said in a press release obtained by The Tennessee Star.
On January 20, President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” which directed government agencies to only issue citizenship documents, including passports and Social Security numbers, to children born in the U.S. with at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or one parent who is a lawful permanent resident.
Reeves applauded Trump’s executive order and said such an effort to codify the president’s order into law would be “about fairness, national security, and restoring respect for our laws.”
“President Trump has shown bold leadership in securing our borders and deporting illegal aliens. I’m running to be his partner in Congress to advance his America First agenda and make our nation safe and strong again,” he added.
Reeves cited a study from the Pew Research Center that shows about 250,000 babies are born to illegal aliens in the U.S. each year, which he said fuels illegal immigration, strains public services, and incentivizes “birth tourism” schemes.
Further, Reeves pointed to the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, emphasizing how it says only those “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. – which means under its full legal authority – shall receive automatic citizenship.
“[T]the current application of birthright citizenship is unconstitutional. The 14th Amendment was never intended to grant citizenship to children of illegal aliens, who owe allegiance to foreign nations and are not fully subject to U.S. jurisdiction,” Reeves said.
As a freshman congressman during the most recent legislative session of the Tennessee General Assembly, Reeves successfully sponsored and passed HB 0749, which makes it a Class B misdemeanor offense of operating a motor vehicle in Tennessee with an invalid driver license and designates out-of-state driver licenses issued exclusively to illegal aliens as invalid driver licenses.
Reeves, pointing to his success in passing HB 0749 and support for other anti-illegal immigration bills at the state level, said he is a “leader in the fight against illegal immigration.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photos “Lee Reeves” by Lee Reeves for Congress.
Good, no foreign illegal should ever be allowed to have a kid given instant citizenship-they need to be shown the door.
I wish John Rose had had the gumption to do this.