Nancy Mace

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace is looking to have a constitutional amendment drafted to bar naturalized citizens from serving in certain political offices.

Mace, a Republican from South Carolina competing for the GOP governor's ticket, is pushing legislation that would bar foreign-born U.S. citizens from serving as federal judges and from being appointed to Senate-confirmed positions. The legislation would need to be voted on as a constitutional amendment.

"This is the very same standard the President and Vice President are already required to meet," Mace, proposing a constitutional amendment for the ban, wrote in an X post on May 20. "The people writing America’s laws, confirming America’s judges, and representing America on the world stage should have one loyalty: America. Not any other country."

The first Republican woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina is a strong supporter of President Donald Trump, who has pushed for restrictions against U.S. citizens whose parents are not from this country.

Here's what the legislation includes.

What is the legislation that Nancy Mace is trying to pass?

Mace calls the legislation for the constitutional amendment "long overdue."

"We just introduced a long overdue joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to require members of Congress, federal judges, and Senate-confirmed officers to be natural born citizens," Mace stated in her social media post.

She continued stating that people in those positions should only be loyal to "America. Not any other country."

In the statement, Mace specifically targeted Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota born in Somalia; Shri Thaneda, a Democrat from Michigan born in India; and Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington born in India.

"For too long, we have allowed foreign-born members to hold seats in this government while making clear they are America last, not America first. We see it every day. This constitutional amendment will put an end to it," she wrote.

What is a naturalized citizen?

A naturalized citizen is someone who was born outside the U.S. but has gone through the legal process to become a citizen, according to Immigration Lawyers USA, a group of lawyers specializing in immigration.

What is birthright citizenship? Is it in the Constitution?

Birthright citizenship grants automatic citizenship for U.S.-born children of immigrants in the country and is enshrined in the 14th Amendment.

Here's how Section 1 of the 14th Amendment reads, according to constitution.congress.gov:

"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. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

When did Nancy Mace take office?