Bernie Moreno

Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno plans to introduce legislation to end birthright citizenship for children of non-citizen parents.

Moreno's proposal follows a Supreme Court ruling that blocked a similar effort by President Donald Trump.

The Supreme Court affirmed that the 14th Amendment applies to all children born in the U.S., regardless of their parents' immigration status.

Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno wants to end birthright citizenship after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked President Donald Trump's efforts to redefine it.

Moreno will introduce legislation that would eliminate automatic citizenship for children born in the United States to mothers who aren't citizens or lawful permanent residents. The language echoes Trump's executive order that was rejected by the court on June 30.

It also mirrors a bill proposed in 1993 by Harry Reid, a former Democratic senator from Nevada who died in 2021. Reid later said the legislation was a mistake and criticized Trump for quoting his past comments on the issue, Politico reported in 2018.

"It's a great bill, so I say let's vote on it and find out once and for all if Harry Reid would still have a home in the modern Democrat Party," Moreno said in a statement.

Birthright citizenship stems from the 14th Amendment, which states that "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."

Trump issued an executive order to limit citizenship to U.S.-born children with at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or green card holder. In its 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court said the 14th Amendment applies to all children born in the United States, regardless of their parents' immigration status.

"Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights − to freely participate in our political community," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote. "The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to 'every free-born person in this land.' We keep that promise today."

In response, some Republicans have called for an amendment to change birthright citizenship in the U.S. Constitution. But Trump urged Congress to pass legislation and argued "no long and unwieldy Constitutional Amendment is necessary."

Moreno announced his plan hours after the ruling. The bill would also limit family and employment-based visas, cap refugee admissions at 50,000 per year and expedite deportation for undocumented immigrants who commit crimes, among other changes.

USA TODAY contributed to this report.

State government reporter Haley BeMiller can be reached at [email protected] or @haleybemiller on X.