Americans are largely divided about groups of children that they think should automatically become citizens. New YouGov Survey.
The survey released Friday included 51% of respondents who support the view that “all children born in the United States should automatically become citizens.”
Meanwhile, 39% of respondents agree that “children born in the United States should automatically become citizens only if their parents are citizens,” and another 9% said they were unsure.
The results reveal small partisan disparities. Those who say every child born in the US should be citizens include 76% of Democrats, 54% of independents and 26% of Republicans.
Only when parents are citizens can those who support birthright citizenship include 68% of Republicans, 33% of independents and 16% of Democrats.
Generations are also somewhat divided on this issue, with younger respondents generally more supportive of broader interpretations of birthright citizenship.
Of adults under the age of 30, 71% support the birthright citizenship of all children, and 20% support only if their parents are citizens. Of those aged 30 to 44, 53% support it for all children, and 36% support it for citizen children. Of those aged 45 to 64, only 38% support birthright citizenship for all children born in the United States, with 52% supporting their parents' children.
This trend has been drawn back among seniors over the age of 65, with 51% supporting birthright citizens for all children born in the United States, and 43% supporting citizen children only.
When President Trump took office, he issued an executive order restricting birthright citizenship to non-citizen parents for those born in the United States, bringing several lawsuits and several blocks of concern from both sides of the political aisle and federal judges.
The appeals court recently rejected the Trump administration's request to partially revive the president's executive order restricting birthright citizenship.
The 14th Amendment of the State, adopted in 1868, states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States are subject to their jurisdiction and are citizens of the United States and states.”
Still, some GOP lawmakers say it's time to revamp the language, claiming it's been misused in ways the amendment framers didn't expect.
The survey included 1,124 US adult citizens and was conducted between January 27th and February 2nd, 2025. The margin for error is 4.1% points.
