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As the debate over birthright citizenship rages before the Supreme Court, videos of top Democrats echoing the Trump administration’s argument have sparked outrage on social media.
“If making it easier to become an illegal alien isn’t enough, how about rewarding being an illegal alien?” Former US Senator Harry Reid said on the floor of the Senate in 1993.
“No sane country would do that. Right? Guess again. If you break our laws by entering this country without permission and give birth to a child, we award that child US citizenship and [a] a guarantee of full access to all the social and social services this community provides – and that’s a lot of services.”
Reid, who served in the Senate as a Democrat for 30 years and was the Senate Majority Leader for 8 years, was talking about the Immigration Enforcement Act of 1993 that he introduced. The law was a comprehensive immigration reform package that included a provision denying birthright US citizenship to mothers who were not US citizens or lawful permanent residents.
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U.S. President Donald Trump takes a question from a reporter after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 31, 2026. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
Reid, who died in 2021 at the age of 82, eventually changed his approach to the law and he said in 2018 that the bill is “a mistake.”
Many on social media were quick to point to Reid’s ascendancy within the Democratic Party and wondered aloud why he could not be called a “racist” in the same way Republicans oppose naturalization.
“WOW,” Conservative influencer Libs for TikTok posted on X. “Senator Harry Reid, a DEMOCRAT, introduced a bill in 1993 to END birthright citizenship for illegal aliens. But when Trump wants to do it, the Democrats call it ‘rAcIsT.’
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“A lot of Democrats support him,” actor Kevin Sorbo posted on X. “They change their minds to fit whatever narrative suits them. That’s why they can’t be trusted.”
“Democrats once said that ‘no country is wise’ to grant birthrights to illegal aliens,” Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) posted on X. “Now, breaking our laws is rewarded with full US citizenship and access to all government benefits. SCOTUS must END this abuse once and for all!”
“Harry Reid was right,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted on X.
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Protesters with opposing views speak before the arrival of President Donald Trump at the US Supreme Court, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (Tom Brenner/AP)
One of the Democratic Alliance, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the late Californian, has also been the talk of social media in recent days for similar comments about immigration that have been viewed more than 8 million times after written by MAZEconservative influencer account on X.
“You have to have a plan when people come to this country, even if they are living well?” Feinstein said in 1993. Get on Medicaid and have a baby, then go back. The answer is no! And we know that Medicaid laws are being used and abused to do just this in the state of California. I would like to see that stop.”
The renewed positions come as the Trump administration argues in the Supreme Court to uphold an executive order signed on the president’s first day back in office, which seeks to end automatic citizenship for almost all people born in the US to undocumented parents, or to parents with temporary non-immigrant visas in the US.
The landmark case focused on more than a century of executive branch action, Supreme Court precedent, and the text of the Constitution itself — or, more specifically, the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment — that administrations say has been misinterpreted more than 100 years since it was passed.
Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
