Birthright citizenship means the children of illegal aliens can vote to tax your children and seize their inheritance.
Fact Check Analysis
The claim is TRUE. Under current U.S. law and long-standing Supreme Court precedent, children born in the United States to parents who are not U.S. citizens—including undocumented/illegal immigrants—are automatically granted American citizenship at birth.
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1868) states: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside"1.
The Supreme Court affirmed this principle in United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), ruling that a person born in San Francisco to Chinese parents who were not permitted to naturalize nonetheless became a U.S. citizen at birth by virtue of the 14th Amendment1.
This constitutional guarantee has been consistently interpreted to include children born to immigrants regardless of their parents' legal status, with only narrow exceptions such as children of foreign diplomats234.
The principle is known as jus soli or "right of the soil," meaning nearly everyone born on U.S. soil is a U.S. citizen, regardless of their parents' immigration status3.
Multiple branches of government have long interpreted the Citizenship Clause as a broad grant of citizenship, removing the question of who is a citizen from ordinary politics2.
While there have been legislative proposals (such as the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2025) and executive orders attempting to deny citizenship to U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants, legal scholars almost universally agree that ending birthright citizenship would require a constitutional amendment or a reversal of Supreme Court precedent54.
Overall validity: 95%
This claim is misleading and lacks critical context. Here is the breakdown:
U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants are automatically U.S. citizens under the 14th Amendment and long-standing Supreme Court precedent (United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 1898)123. Like all U.S. citizens, they become eligible to vote at age 18 in federal, state, and local elections — not because of their parents' status, but because they are citizens by birthright.
Federal law prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections under 18 U.S. Code § 61145. This applies to noncitizen children of illegal immigrants who were not born in the U.S.
Children (minors) generally cannot vote regardless of citizenship status. The voting age in the U.S. is 18 for federal and nearly all state elections46. Some local jurisdictions allow 16- or 17-year-olds to vote in certain local elections, but this applies based on age, not parental immigration status78.
Noncitizen parents (not children) may vote in very limited local elections in a few jurisdictions, such as San Francisco school board elections, but only if they are residents and parents of children in the school district49.
The claim appears designed to suggest an unusual or improper voting privilege, but no such special right exists. U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants have the exact same voting rights as any other U.S. citizen: they can vote once they turn 18. Noncitizen children have the same voting restrictions as any other noncitizen.
The claim is technically true only in the narrow sense that U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants are citizens who can vote upon reaching adulthood — just like every other American. It is false if interpreted to mean that minor children or noncitizen children of illegal immigrants have special or immediate voting rights. The framing is deceptive because it implies these children have some extraordinary ability to vote that other citizens do not.
Overall validity: 35%
This claim appears to be a paraphrase or quotation of a statement made by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller regarding birthright citizenship12. Here is my analysis:
Overall validity: 15%
The claim is a modified version of a political talking point originally stated by Stephen Miller: "Birthright citizenship means the children of illegal aliens can vote to tax your children and seize their inheritance."
Children born on U.S. soil to undocumented immigrant parents are U.S. citizens under the 14th Amendment and confirmed by Supreme Court precedent in United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898)12. They are not themselves "illegal aliens."
Like all U.S. citizens, they gain the right to vote at age 18, and they can vote on tax policies, ballot measures, and candidates3. However, this is true of every citizen, not just those born to undocumented parents34.
The claim frames normal democratic participation as a unique threat. All voters—regardless of parentage—can vote on tax policies. The claim misleadingly implies that children of undocumented immigrants have some special power to tax "the children of other people" when in fact all citizens participate equally in the same democratic process53.
Federal law explicitly prohibits noncitizens (including undocumented immigrants) from voting in federal elections, with violations punishable by fines or imprisonment6. The claim conflates the voting rights of U.S.-born citizens with those of undocumented immigrants.
The inflammatory framing is historically significant: The term "children of illegal aliens" rather than "U.S. citizens" is used to suggest these voters are not truly part of the American polity, a rhetorical tactic used in debates over birthright citizenship721.
"Seize their inheritance" component (in Miller's original quote) is misleading—inheritance/estate taxes apply to a tiny fraction of estates (roughly 0.09% of decedents)89 and are not uniquely imposed by any single voting bloc.
The claim is technically correct in the narrow sense that U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants are citizens who can vote on tax policy like all other citizens. However, it is highly misleading because it:
Overall validity: 30%