After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship, Texas State Rep. Brian Harrison is calling on the Texas Legislature to take action.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that birthright citizenship may remain legal, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing that the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
Justice Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch disagreed with the majority opinion, writing that its historical account was inaccurate.
“The Citizenship Clause was consistently interpreted not to apply to the children of foreign temporary visitors, who were by definition not domiciled in the United States. Regardless of administration or party, the Federal Government for decades after ratification regularly denied claims to citizenship by children who were born in the United States but not domiciled here. When a child was ‘born’ in the United States to parents ‘domiciled’ abroad, he was ‘not, therefore, under the statute and the Constitution a citizen of the United States by birth,'” Thomas’ dissenting opinion reads.
One day after the Supreme Court’s ruling, Harrison, who represents Ellis County, sent a letter demanding that the Texas Legislature convene for a special session to address birth tourism in Texas.
“Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision yesterday in Trump v. Barbara upholding birthright citizenship, Representative Brian Harrison is now demanding a special session to take all action necessary to protect Texans from the dangerous “birth tourism” schemes occurring within the state,” Harrison’s letter states.
Harrison is asking Texas lawmakers to create legislation that makes it a felony to operate or participate in birth tourism within Texas, expand the criminal offense of illegal entry to include entering for the purpose of birth tourism, and give the Texas attorney general authority to investigate and prosecute birth tourism.
His letter also asks the Texas Legislature to pass a resolution formally condemning the Supreme Court’s decision, as well as a resolution urging Congress to take “any and all necessary actions to fix birthright citizenship.”
Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Roy agreed with Harrison’s proposal, writing on X: “Texas should do this – and more.”
“After yesterday’s Supreme Court decision, Texans deserve action, not just rhetoric, from their state leaders. Texas must start acting like the sovereign state it is and stop taking it on the chin when actions from DC threaten to destroy the very fabric of our republic,” Harrison said. “Texas must not simply act like a powerless bystander but take bold and decisive action to protect liberty for future generations.”
“I am publicly demanding an immediate special session to combat the harms from mass birth tourism, pressure the federal government to fix birth tourism, and to protect the value of citizenship that countless paid the ultimate price for. I hope every elected Republican in Texas joins my call for immediate action. Delay is unacceptable for a state like Texas,” he concluded.
