Iowa Solicitor General leads conservative push to end birthright citizenship after Supreme Court loss

Just weeks after the Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump's sweeping bid to end birthright citizenship, Iowa Solicitor General Eric Wessan is helping lead a conservative movement to keep the fight alive. The goal, he and other allies say, is to turn the issue into a long-term project that could take decades, much like the effort to overturn Roe v. Wade.

At a recent gathering of conservative lawyers, former Trump aides, and immigration hawks at Bellator Hall near the U.S. Capitol, Wessan told Politico that the Supreme Court's ruling has sparked new interest in the legal debate over the 14th Amendment. 'There's going to be a lot of focus on this issue, both in legal academia from some, but not exclusively, conservative law professors,' Wessan said. 'There's now a lot of interest in this area, and when you get the truth-seeking function of academia set on an interesting question, you're naturally going to elicit a lot of responses, and that's going to keep the issue fresh.'

The Supreme Court's June ruling in Trump v. Barbara was narrower than many expected. Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, and three liberal justices agreed that the 14th Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship to anyone born in the United States. Justice Brett Kavanaugh said Trump's executive order violated a federal statute but left the door open for Congress to end the practice. The ruling has energized conservatives who see it as a starting point, not an ending.

What is birthright citizenship and why does it matter?

Birthright citizenship is the legal principle that anyone born on U.S. soil is automatically a citizen, regardless of their parents' immigration status. It has been the settled legal consensus for more than a century, rooted in the 14th Amendment. Critics, including many conservatives, argue that it encourages illegal immigration and 'birth tourism,' where foreign women travel to the U.S. specifically to give birth so their children gain citizenship.

Supporters of ending birthright citizenship say it undermines national sovereignty. Mike Davis, founder of the Trump-aligned Article III Project, said at the event, 'They turned birthright citizenship into the next Roe v. Wade, that we're going to have to spend the next 50 years overturning. They have destroyed our most crucial sovereign power as we the people, which is our sovereignty, controlling who comes and goes and who becomes one of us.'

Trump's new executive orders target birth tourism

President Trump, joined by White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, unveiled two new executive orders on Thursday that narrow birthright citizenship and crack down on 'birth tourism' schemes. The orders target children born to foreign diplomatic staff working in the U.S., children of 'alien enemies' including foreign terrorist organizations, and children born to women who enter the U.S. solely to give birth so their child gains citizenship.

'We're taking this action to ensure that large numbers of people that wrongly would be getting birthright citizenship will no longer be eligible for those benefits,' Miller told reporters.

The orders are a more limited approach than Trump's original executive order, which the Supreme Court struck down. But they show the administration is determined to push the boundaries of what is legally possible.

Iowa's role in the national debate

Iowa Solicitor General Eric Wessan's involvement in the conservative legal strategy highlights the state's growing influence in national immigration debates. Wessan, a key legal figure in Iowa, has been a vocal advocate for reinterpreting the 14th Amendment's citizenship clause. His presence at the Bellator Hall event underscores that the fight is not just a Washington, D.C., effort but one with deep roots in conservative states like Iowa.

John Eastman, who directs the Claremont Institute Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence and helped Trump devise his 2020 election strategy, also spoke at the event. 'It was a success that we got as far as we did,' Eastman said. 'And that conversation is now going on throughout the country, throughout the country by ordinary citizens and lawmakers and legislators and judges alike.'

What comes next: a long-term legal and legislative strategy

Conservative allies of Trump are planning to make ending birthright citizenship a recurring topic at conferences and law schools, training the next generation of lawyers to challenge the current legal consensus. They are also pressing lawmakers to introduce bills, from constitutional amendments to narrower measures targeting birth tourism. Even as legislative prospects remain slim, the movement is building momentum.

Some advocates want birthright citizenship to become a litmus test for all future judicial nominees. 'We need nine [Justice Samuel] Alitos on the Supreme Court,' Davis said.

New York University law professor Melissa Murray said the president's executive orders show Republicans will keep pushing. 'They're going to keep pressing on this, whether it is incrementally or in big bursts. These are attempting to rewrite the rules of birthright citizenship.'

Kate Shaw, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, compared the fight to the abortion debate. 'There's every reason to think that the fight for the future of birthright citizenship will resemble recent fights over federal constitutional protections for abortion. The question isn't whether conservatives will mobilize against birthright citizenship and Barbara, but whether progressives will also mobilize to defend the settled understanding of the Constitution's citizenship clause.'

Frequently asked questions about birthright citizenship

Can Congress end birthright citizenship?

Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested in his opinion that Congress could pass a law ending birthright citizenship, even if the president cannot do so by executive order. However, any such law would likely face immediate legal challenges and could require a constitutional amendment to be fully settled.

What is birth tourism?

Birth tourism refers to the practice of foreign women traveling to the United States specifically to give birth so their child automatically gains U.S. citizenship. Trump's new executive orders target this practice by denying citizenship to children born to women who enter the U.S. solely for that purpose.

How does this affect Iowans?

Iowa Solicitor General Eric Wessan's involvement means the state is directly engaged in shaping national immigration policy. For Iowans, the debate touches on issues of border security, national sovereignty, and the rule of law, all of which are priorities for conservative voters in the state.

The conservative movement to end birthright citizenship is far from over. With Iowa's top legal voice helping lead the charge, the issue is likely to remain a central focus for years to come.