These celebs might not be Americans without birthright citizenship
By: Christopher Cann
USA today
.... The Secretary of State, several former presidential candidates and a martial arts icon all became United States citizens at both because of birthright citizenship, which President Donald Trump has thrown into limbo.
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On his first day in office, Trump directed federal agencies not to recognize the citizenship of children bone in the United States to parents in the country temporarily or without legal authorization.
..... Several judges quickly blocked the order nationwide. On June 27, [2025] the Supreme Court lifted those temporary blocks, but left it to lower courts to consider the constitutionality of Trump's executive order. It is unclear whether Trump will ultimately be able to real the longstanding legal precedent of the 14th amendment that grants citizenship to all children boron on American soil.
..... Here are some well-known actors and politicians who are American citizens thanks to birthright citizenship.
..... Secretary of State Marco Rubio, 54, is the son of Cuban immigrants who did not become naturalized U.S. citizens until 1975, after their son was born. Rubio has previously said he does not agree with repealing birthright citizenship.
..... Actress Diane Guerrero, who starred in the hit TV show "Orange Is the New Black," was born to undocumented immigrants from Columbia who were deported when age was 14, she told NPR in 2019.
..... "this is a country of immigrants. People forget - they like to forget that their ancestors came here with the same dream, with the same hopes, with the same fears. And it's unfair to say that because people are coming later that they don't deserve to be here," she told the outlets.
..... Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who ran for the Republican nomination for president in 2024, was born in South Carolina to immigrants form the Punjab region of India, according to her autobiography.
..... In 2015, told The State newspaper that her parents were in the United States legally but did not become naturalized citizens until after her birth, and the nonpartisan American Immigration Council considers her a U.S. citizen because of her place of birth.
..... Martial arts icon Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco while his parents were traveling with the Chinese Opera.
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The National Archives notes that under birthright citizenship he was considered a citizen - though he would not be under Trump's revision to the law. "Lee's parents field for a Return Certificate on his behalf," archivists wrote, "enabling him to return to the United States if he later wished to do so. Lee did return at the age of 18."
..... Trump;s executive order ending birthright citizenship may have been designed explicitly tot target his November rival for the presidency, former Vice President Kamala Harris.
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Trump;s order specifies that someone wouldn't be entitled to birthright citizenship if their mother was on a temporary visa - like the student visa Harris' mother hold at th time of her birth - and their father wasn't a citizen as hers wasn't
..... Vivek Ramaswamy, the tech billionaire and 2024 Republican presidential candidate, told NBC News in 2023 that his father never became a U.S. citizen and his mother naturalized only after he was born.
..... Nonetheless, Ramaswamy, whom Trump endorsed in the 206 Ohio gubernatorial race, has repeatedly called for an end to birthright citizenship
..... Contributing: Maureen Groppe, Eduardo Cuevas, Sarea Chernikoff, Ramon Padilla and Bart Janson, USA Today