Loophole In Birthright Citizenship Lets Adversaries Build Undetectable Spy Networks

Former Trump National Security Council official and Iraq veteran Joshua Steinman has filed an amicus brief that brings a critical, often-overlooked national security lens to the debate over birthright citizenship.

The landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Trump v. Barbara (No. 25-365) challenges President Donald Trump’s Executive Order No. 14160, issued in January 2025. Trump’s EO aimed to deny automatic U.S. citizenship to children born in the U.S. to non-citizen parents, particularly in cases lacking “subject to the jurisdiction” as interpreted under the 14th Amendment. Steinman’s brief argues for Trump’s side, saying that unrestricted birthright citizenship creates exploitable vulnerabilities for foreign adversaries to embed long-term spies and influence agents within American society.