Rep. Nancy Mace Advocates for Constitutional Ban on Foreign-Born Lawmakers

Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, is actively pursuing an effort to restrict foreign-born individuals from holding positions in Congress and the federal judiciary. Mace recently discussed her proposed constitutional amendment on the program ‘Saturday in America’.

Mace’s legislation aims to align the requirement for members of the House, Senate, and federal judiciary with that of the presidency, which demands that individuals be natural-born citizens. ‘If the president has to be natural-born, so too should members of Congress, so too should our judges,’ she asserted during her appearance on Fox News. This joint resolution would mandate that persons in these roles, as well as Senate-confirmed appointees, must be natural-born citizens.

The congresswoman specifically mentioned Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota as an example, suggesting that foreign-born lawmakers might hold allegiances to other countries. Mace voiced her support for the retroactive removal of naturalized citizens from Congress, claiming that individuals like Omar pledge allegiance to other nations. She also mentioned Rep. Shri Thanedar of Michigan in this context. ‘These are people who’ve pledged allegiance to foreign countries,’ she stated.

Omar, in response to the proposal, appeared unconcerned, simply saying, ‘Good luck to her.’ Meanwhile, Rep. Pramila Jayapal criticized the amendment, labeling it as ‘xenophobic’ and arguing that Mace should focus on solving issues that directly impact Americans. She stated, ‘This is also insulting to the hundreds of thousands of constituents who elected naturalized citizens into office.’

For the amendment to succeed, it would require approval by two-thirds of both congressional chambers and ratification by three-fourths of the U.S. states. An alternative method involves a constitutional convention requested by two-thirds of state legislatures, though this approach has never been successful.

Fox News Digital reached out to Ilhan Omar’s office regarding Mace’s comments but did not receive an immediate response.