The Supreme Court is soon expected to rule on the future of birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara. If the Court rules in favor of the Trump administration, birthright citizenship will be restricted. Not only is birthright citizenship enshrined in the United States Constitution by the 14th Amendment, but it has also greatly benefited the United States economy. 

A new peer-reviewed study in the Journal on Migration and Human Security, authored by researchers at Princeton University, Cornell University, and Notre Dame University, conservatively estimates the economic impact of birthright citizens’ incomes to be $7.7 trillion in 2024 USD. This means that the United States would be leaving trillion-dollar bills on the sidewalk by restricting access to United States citizenship.

The president’s executive order on birthright citizenship not only bars citizenship to the children of unauthorized immigrants, but also to the children of parents on work (H‑1B, O‑1, etc.) and study-based visas (F‑1, M‑1, J‑1, etc.). Even without birthright citizenship, these children may eventually be eligible for US citizenship through other pathways, but granting these children United States citizenship at birth minimizes needless government red tape and boosts the economic productivity of children of immigrants and their parents by encouraging them to invest in their education and skills.

A child who is born a US citizen is a child who is incentivized to adopt American culture from birth. As United States citizens, they know they can live their entire lives in this country and make full use of American institutions. Birthright citizens are incentivized to invest in their human capital—to focus on their studies and to develop skills that will make them economically productive, tax-paying adults.

...read more at cato.org