House Speaker Mike Johnson attempted to defend President Donald Trump's attack on birthright citizenship even though it helped the U.S. men's national team go 2-0 in the World Cup. The team's strong performance has garnered support across the political spectrum, with birthright citizenship playing a key role in landing at least three players on the USMNT roster, including top scorer Folarin Balogun.
Birthright Citizenship and USMNT Success
Balogun, who leads the USMNT in scoring, was born in New York City in 2001 to Nigerian parents who were traveling from London. As a result, he was granted U.S. citizenship under the 14th Amendment's birthright citizenship clause. The Guardian noted that at least two other players on the team also benefited from this policy.
On Wednesday, a reporter asked Johnson how to reconcile the team's success with the administration's efforts to end birthright citizenship. Johnson responded with a lengthy explanation, saying, "Like all good things, it can be abused, and birthright citizenship goes back to the root of the country, the history of the tradition." He added that the founders faced "a very different set of circumstances" than today.
Johnson's Claims of Abuse
Johnson asserted that birthright citizenship has "been abused in recent years" because "people have been literally just come over the border just to have a baby so that they can, you know, avail themselves of the social welfare system of America," which he called "the most benevolent nation in the history of the world."
Trump issued an executive order on the first day of his second term to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants and temporary residents. The order was challenged in court, and the Supreme Court heard arguments against the policy earlier this spring. Although justices seemed skeptical in April, Johnson predicted the conservative majority would consider the arguments "as originalists, as they are, as textualists" and would also weigh "the strength and stability of the country."
Inconsistency or Not?
Johnson eventually returned to the reporter's original question about the apparent contradiction between celebrating the USMNT's World Cup wins and the anti-immigration stance. "So I don't think it's inconsistent at all. I think we can celebrate immigration — legal immigration. We are a nation of immigrants, as we all recognize," he said.
He shared a personal story: "My grandfather came over on a boat from Sicily with eight siblings, and started a fruit stand — and I'm the Speaker of the House. Only in America." Johnson emphasized that while America embraces legal immigration as "part of our history," immigrants must "follow the spirit and the letter of the law" and "assimilate to our country and not try to transplant Sharia law and all these other cra… things, and change who we are."
Upcoming Decisions and Matches
The Supreme Court's ruling on Trump's birthright citizenship order could come any day now. The USMNT's next World Cup game is on Thursday against Turkey. The team's success has highlighted the role of birthright citizenship in building a competitive national team, even as the administration seeks to dismantle it.
