Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) sparked controversy on social media after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship. Ogles announced he would introduce the "Anchors Away Act," which he said would ban certain pregnant foreign women from entering the United States.
Ogles' Proposal and Rationale
In a video posted to social media, Ogles explained his bill. "So, I have a bill; it will be called Anchors Away, which, look, if you're not a U.S. citizen, if you're not a green card holder, and you have a child on U.S. soil, today, that child will be a U.S. citizen," Ogles said. "Under my bill, under my legislation, we fix that and go back to what our founders intended. So in short, what this bill does is if you are a pregnant woman, you can't come into this country. You got to be a citizen, be here, you have to be a green card holder. So if you're pregnant and you don't have one of those status, no admittance allowed." The term "anchor" in the bill's name references the pejorative "anchor babies," used by conservatives to describe children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants.
Trump's Reaction and Legislative Hurdles
Ogles followed Trump's lead after the ruling. Trump posted on Truth Social: "The Supreme Court upheld Birthright Citizenship, which is too bad for our Country, but we can easily make it up in Congress through Legislation, with the support of the President, that has now been determined during this process. No long and unwieldy Constitutional Amendment is necessary! Congress should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our Country, Birthright Citizenship. They will have my Complete and Total Support!"
However, any legislation would likely face the same constitutional barriers as Trump's executive order. The 14th Amendment clearly states that all children born on U.S. soil are American citizens. Additionally, even if the bill passed the House, it would likely be dead in the Senate, where Republicans lack the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.
Social Media Backlash
Reaction to Ogles' announcement was swift. Critics pointed out that two of Trump's three ex-wives—Ivana Trump and Melania Trump—were foreign-born. Others framed the legislation as an attempt to control women's bodies and questioned its enforceability. One user asked, "The party of less government wants to have every woman tourist take a pregnancy test?" Another noted the irony during the World Cup, where a U.S. men's national team player is a citizen because his mother was too pregnant to return to the UK. Critics also invoked the immigration of Ogles' own ancestors and compared the U.S. to North Korea.
