Again, the bill is poorly drafted, so it is not entirely clear. The final section of the bill includes an “applicability” section stating that the amendments it makes to federal statutes “shall not be construed to affect the citizenship or nationality of a person born in the United States territories, who is born as a child of a United States citizen or the child of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States.”

However, because these limitations are not included in the actual statutory amendments, it leaves open the question of how they might be interpreted by the courts. When Congress has legislated these kinds of distinctions in the past, it has done so expressly. For example, under current law, “a person born in [American Samoa] of parents one of whom is a citizen of the United States” is recognized as a “U.S. citizen, while children born to non-U.S. citizen parents are not.  8 U.S.C. § 1401(e).

Ultimately, the bill is not clear, and its sweeping language could put at risk the citizenship of anyone born in the covered territories on or after January 1, 2027, including children whose parents are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.