--- title: SR 123. Birthright Citizenship; a constitutional right; affirm collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sr123 cite_as: SR 123, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr123 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr123.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr123/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69876 date: 2025-02-05 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr122.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr124.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 95 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr123.md?full=1 bill_number: SR 123 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-02-04 last_action: Senate Read and Referred sponsors: - Nabilah Islam Parkes - Harold Jones - Jason Esteves - Randal Mangham - Josh McLaurin - Nikki Merritt - Kim Jackson - Nan Orrock - Kenya Wicks - Sonya Halpern - Gail Davenport - Elena Parent - Donzella James - Michael Rhett - David Lucas - Derek Mallow - RaShaun Kemp - Sheikh Rahman text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR123/2025 upstream_id: 1955707 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - birthright citizenship - immigration - constitutional rights - Fourteenth Amendment --- # SR 123. Birthright Citizenship; a constitutional right; affirm ## Text Senate Resolution 123 By: Senators Islam Parkes of the 7th, Jones II of the 22nd, Esteves of the 35th, Mangham of the 55th, McLaurin of the 14th and others A RESOLUTION Affirming birthright citizenship as a constitutional right; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, the strength of America is and always has been founded in our exceptional diversity, which underpins our economy, energizes our culture, and ensures us a vibrant and prosperous future; and WHEREAS, since our nation's founding, people from every nation on earth, speaking every language on earth, have come to America in search of opportunity, worked to build prosperity and security for their families, and helped create our communities, our industries, and our institutions; and WHEREAS, the right to citizenship for the children of those immigrants has helped those communities, industries, and institutions flourish generation after generation; and WHEREAS, birthright citizenship ensures that our national identity is defined not by blood, but by a shared commitment to building our nation together on a foundation of liberty, equality, and self-governance; and WHEREAS, the 1844 New York state court case Lynch v. Clarke established a legal precedent that persons born in the United States to visiting parents are United States citizens by right of birth; and WHEREAS, in 1868 the Fourteenth Amendment enshrined birthright citizenship in Constitutional law by stating unambiguously that "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" by right of birth; and WHEREAS, in 1898 in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the Supreme Court reinforced that children born in the United States to immigrant parents are United States citizens by right of birth; and WHEREAS, most living Americans trace their citizenship to an ancestor with foreign-born parents who acquired citizenship by right of birth; and WHEREAS, the Trump Administration's current assault on birthright citizenship is not just unconstitutional but an offense against American values. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body reaffirm birthright citizenship as a fundamental right in accordance with the ideals of this nation, the United States Constitution, and more than a century of settled constitutional law. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the public and the press. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia Senate resolution would put the Senate on record affirming that birthright citizenship, the constitutional right to citizenship for anyone born in the United States, is a fundamental right. ### Plain-language summary This is a resolution, not a law, so it does not change any Georgia statute or the U.S. Constitution. It states the Georgia Senate's position that birthright citizenship, the principle that a person born on U.S. soil is automatically a citizen, is a fundamental constitutional right rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment and cases like United States v. Wong Kim Ark. The resolution recites historical background, including an 1844 New York court case and the 1898 Supreme Court decision, and criticizes recent federal efforts to limit birthright citizenship as unconstitutional. It resolves that Senate members reaffirm this right and directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies of the resolution to the public and the press. It creates no new legal requirements or penalties. ### What it does - Declares the Georgia Senate's position that birthright citizenship is a fundamental constitutional right under the Fourteenth Amendment. - Recites historical and legal background, including the 1844 Lynch v. Clarke case and the 1898 United States v. Wong Kim Ark Supreme Court decision. - Criticizes recent federal actions targeting birthright citizenship as unconstitutional. - Directs the Secretary of the Senate to make copies of the resolution available to the public and press. - Creates no binding law, penalty, or funding, since it is a resolution expressing the Senate's opinion rather than a bill amending Georgia code. ### Who it affects This resolution primarily affects the Georgia Senate itself as a formal statement of position. It does not directly regulate immigrants, citizens, state agencies, or businesses, though it addresses a topic relevant to immigrant families and anyone whose citizenship traces to birth in the United States. ### Why it matters Because this is a resolution rather than a bill, it does not change any law or create enforceable rights. Its practical effect is symbolic: it records the Georgia Senate's stance on a national debate over birthright citizenship and directs that stance be publicized. ### Key provisions - The whereas clauses cite Lynch v. Clarke (1844), the Fourteenth Amendment (1868), and United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) as legal basis for birthright citizenship. - The first resolving clause has Senate members reaffirm birthright citizenship as a fundamental right under the U.S. Constitution. - The second resolving clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies of the resolution to the public and press. - The resolution contains no operative statutory language, penalties, funding, or effective date since it does not amend Georgia law. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-04) - Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-02-05) - Sponsors: Nabilah Islam Parkes, Harold Jones, Jason Esteves, Randal Mangham, Josh McLaurin, Nikki Merritt, Kim Jackson, Nan Orrock, Kenya Wicks, Sonya Halpern, Gail Davenport, Elena Parent, Donzella James, Michael Rhett, David Lucas, Derek Mallow, RaShaun Kemp, Sheikh Rahman - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69876 > The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr123.md?full=1