Birthright Citizenship: The Solution That Has Majority Support

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• A majority (56%) of registered voters favor a proposal that any child born to a legal resident of the U.S. should be a citizen of the U.S., but a child born to an illegal immigrant should not be a citizen of the U.S.
  • This includes 33% who Strongly Favor.
  • One third (35%) oppose such a proposal.
  • Three quarters of Republicans (75%) favor the proposal, but only 38% of Democrats feel the same.
• Fewer (47%) say if a pregnant woman enters the United States illegally and gives birth in the United States, the child should automatically be considered an American citizen.
  • Forty-four percent (44%) disagree and say the child should not be considered a citizen.
  • As expected, the parties are not aligned on this issue: Democrats (71%) say the child should be considered an American citizen, and 66% of Republicans disagree.
  • A solid majority (58%) of postgraduates say that the child should be considered a citizen if born to a woman who entered the U.S. illegally.
• From another angle: if a woman enters the United States illegally and becomes pregnant within a year or so and the father of the child is also an illegal immigrant, the opinions are very similar.
  • Forty-five percent (45%) say that the child should automatically be considered an American citizen. This is up 7 points from January 2024.
  • Forty-six percent (46%) disagree and say the child should not be considered a citizen.
  • Views by Republicans remain the same as 66% say the child should not be considered a citizen, and 63% of Democrats say the child should be considered a U.S. citizen.
• Looking at a slightly different situation: If a woman comes legally, but temporarily, to the U.S., gives birth to a child, and then returns with that child to her home country before the child is one year old, 46% of voters say that child should be considered an American citizen.
  • Thirty-eight percent (38%) disagree and say the child should not be considered a citizen.
  • Sixteen percent (16%) are Not Sure.
  • A majority of Democrats (62%) say the child should be considered a citizen, but only 30% of Republicans agree.
  • Two-thirds (65%) of postgraduates also agree with citizenship for the child.
• If the law was changed so that only children of legal immigrants were given U.S. citizenship, while children of illegal immigrants did not automatically become citizens, 32% of voters say children of illegal immigrants who were previously given citizenship should lose that citizenship.
  • A plurality (49%) disagree and say that children of illegal immigrants who were previously given citizenship should keep that citizenship.
  • Still 19% are Not Sure.
  • More Democrats (64%) than Republicans (34%) say the child should not lose their citizenship.
• In all talks about immigration, it is important to remember that 65% of voters say legal is good and illegal is bad.
  • Another 17% say both legal and illegal immigration are good for the United States, while just 11% say both legal and illegal immigration are bad.
  • These numbers have been relatively stable for decades.

This data is from a Napolitan News Service survey of 1,000 Registered Voters conducted online by Scott Rasmussen, April 3, 2026. RMG Research, Inc., conducted the field work for the survey. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1.