HR 9724 Re-checks Congress.gov for new actions and updates the bill's status, and fills in any sponsors, committees, or related bills that are missing. It does not re-pull sponsors/cosponsors/committees/related — those rarely change — and it skips all work if nothing has changed upstream, so it's cheap to click.
End Birthright Citizenship for Territories Act
To clarify United States birthright citizenship laws in the territories and combat foreign nationals who are seeking citizenship in the United States territories.
Summary
- Ends automatic birthright citizenship in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands for individuals born on or after January 1, 2027.
- Preserves birthright citizenship for individuals born in these territories before January 1, 2027, and for children of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents born after January 1, 2027.
- Modifies the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Northern Mariana Islands Covenant to establish the January 1, 2027 deadline for birthright citizenship eligibility in these U.S. territories.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
1 cosponsor
- Rep. Norman, Ralph [R-SC-5] (R-SC)
Actions (2)
- Jul 16, 2026 Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. · house
- Jul 16, 2026 Introduced in House
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 16, 2026
Mr. Griffith introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To clarify United States birthright citizenship laws in the territories and combat foreign nationals who are seeking citizenship in the United States territories.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “End Birthright Citizenship for Territories Act”.
SEC. 2 BACKGROUND.
Whereas, under article IV, section 3, clause 2, the Constitution states: “The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States;”; Whereas, Supreme Court of the United States precedents, known collectively as the Insular Cases, stands for the proposition that Congress has the power to legislate with respect to the United States territories, including citizenship status; Whereas, Congress has previously granted citizenship by statute to four of the five United States territories but not to the people of American Samoa; Whereas, the decision in Trump v. Barbara did not address or call into question any of these Insular Case based statutes; and Whereas, Congress has the inherent authority to change statutes relating to citizenship of persons born in the territories.
SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON CITIZENSHIP FOR INDIVIDUALS BORN IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO.
(a) In General.—Title III of the Immigration and Nationality Act section 302 (8 U.S.C. 1402) is amended by striking the comma after “after January 13, 1941,” and adding “and before January 1, 2027,”.
SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON CITIZENSHIP FOR INDIVIDUALS BORN IN THE TERRITORY OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS.
(a) In General.—Title III of the Immigration and Nationality Act section 306 (8 U.S.C. 1402) is amended in subparagraph (b) by inserting the “and before January 1, 2027,” after “after February 25, 1927,”.
SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON CITIZENSHIP FOR INDIVIDUALS BORN IN THE TERRITORY OF GUAM.
(a) In General.—Title III of the Immigration and Nationality Act section 307 (8 U.S.C. 1406) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (b) by striking the parenthesis before “whether” and after “1950”;
(2) by adding a comma before “whether” and after “1950”; and
(3) by adding after “August 1, 1950” the following: “and before January 1, 2027.”.
SEC. 6. LIMITATION ON CITIZENSHIP FOR INDIVIDUALS BORN IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.
(a) In General.—Subchapter I—The Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, as approved under Public Law 94-241, section 303 at (48 U.S.C. 1801) is amended in subsection 303 by adding after “and” the following: “before January 1, 2027, are” and by striking “at birth” at the end.
(b) Applicability.—
(1) The amendment made by subsection (a), (b), (c) and (d) shall not be construed to affect the citizenship or nationality status of any person born in the United States before January 1, 2027.
(2) The amendment made by subsection (a), (b), (c) and (d) shall not be construed to affect the citizenship or nationality of a person born in the United States territories, who is born as a child of a United States citizen or the child of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States. <all>
Comments