MAGA Commentator Claims 'Chinese CCP Babies' Born in the US Are Exploiting Birthright Citizenship

A heated debate over birthright citizenship unfolded on a CNN interview after a MAGA commentator claimed that 'Chinese CCP babies' born in the United States were evidence that foreign adversaries were exploiting American immigration laws.

The exchange took place during a panel discussion following the US Supreme Court's decision to block President Donald Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship through executive action.

This remark follows Trump's legal adviser's statement, Mike Davis, who urged the administration to shift its focus from mass deportations to preventing pregnant migrants from giving birth in the United States.

Birthright Citizenship Debate Turns To Chinese Babies

During the discussion, CNN presenter Abby Phillip questioned whether the political push against birthright citizenship was both practical and politically damaging before New York Post's conservative correspondent Lydia Moynihan defended the position advanced by some within the MAGA movement.

Moynihan argued that hostile foreign governments were taking advantage of the existing system.

'We already know that foreign adversaries are exploiting this,' she said. 'There's been 1.5 million Chinese CCP babies who have been born on US soil.'

Phillip immediately challenged the figure and the way it was being presented.

'I've never seen the number be that high,' she replied, asking whether Moynihan was referring to Chinese nationals rather than all people of Chinese heritage.

Moynihan maintained that birth tourism involving Chinese nationals was a genuine concern and continued to argue that foreign governments were exploiting US citizenship laws. As the discussion became increasingly tense, Phillip questioned whether it was reasonable to suggest that every child born to Chinese parents in the United States should be viewed through the same lens.

'Do you realise that not all of them are here to give birth?' Phillip said.

Abby Phillip Pushes Back On Birthright Citizenship Claims

The disagreement intensified when Moynihan argued that the issue extended beyond immigration to future voting rights, asking whether Americans should want children of parents she described as Chinese Communist Party citizens to eventually vote in US elections.

Phillip rejected that argument, noting that American citizenship does not depend on a person's parents holding US nationality.

'There are plenty of people who have parents of foreign citizenship, who are American citizens and do in fact have the right to vote,' Phillip responded. 'They might be from China, they might be from Russia, they might be from England, they might be from anywhere in the world. That is not illegal, to have parents from another country.'

MAGA's View on Birthright Citizenship

Like Trump, the MAGA movement argues that the current interpretation of the US Constitution's birthright citizenship clause is too expansive and encourages illegal immigration and so-called 'birth tourism.'

Supporters contend that the 14th Amendment was never intended to automatically grant citizenship to every child born on US soil regardless of their parents' immigration status.

Many back Trump's efforts to restrict automatic citizenship for children born to undocumented immigrants and, in some proposals, to parents who are in the country only temporarily on student, work or tourist visas. They argue that such changes would protect the value of US citizenship, reduce incentives for unlawful immigration and prevent foreign nationals from exploiting the system.

Critics, however, maintain that the 14th Amendment clearly guarantees citizenship to nearly everyone born in the United States and note that courts, including the US Supreme Court in 2026, have rejected Trump's attempt to narrow that constitutional right.