Legislation Tracker
Significant federal and state measures bearing on citizenship and nationality — filter by level, status, and topic, or search across the set.
Last updated: July 2026
- EnactedFederal · United States · 1790
Naturalization Act of 1790
1 Stat. 103
The first uniform rule of naturalization, establishing a two-year residency requirement while limiting eligibility to 'free white persons' of good character — a restriction dismantled only over later generations.
NaturalizationHistory - EnactedFederal · United States · 1866
Civil Rights Act of 1866
14 Stat. 27
Declared that all persons born in the United States and not subject to any foreign power are citizens — the statutory forerunner of the Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause.
BirthrightCivil Rights - EnactedFederal · United States · 1952
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (McCarran–Walter)
Pub. L. 82–414 · Sen. Pat McCarran; Rep. Francis Walter
Codified U.S. immigration and nationality law into Title 8 of the U.S. Code, consolidating the rules for naturalization and the acquisition of citizenship that remain the backbone of the system today.
NaturalizationCodification - EnactedFederal · United States · 1965
Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 (Hart–Celler)
Pub. L. 89–236 · Rep. Emanuel Celler; Sen. Philip Hart
Abolished the national-origins quota system, reshaping who could immigrate to and ultimately naturalize in the United States.
ImmigrationReform - EnactedFederal · United States · 1986
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)
Pub. L. 99–603
Paired a legalization program for certain long-resident immigrants with employer-sanction provisions, opening a path that led many to eventual naturalization.
ReformEnforcement - EnactedFederal · United States · 1990
Immigration Act of 1990
Pub. L. 101–649
Revised immigrant admission categories and created the diversity visa program, affecting the pipeline of future citizens.
Immigration - EnactedFederal · United States · 2000
Child Citizenship Act of 2000
Pub. L. 106–395
Granted automatic U.S. citizenship to many foreign-born children of U.S. citizens, including adopted children, once specified conditions are met.
Derivative CitizenshipChildren - EnactedFederal · United States · 1993
National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ("Motor Voter")
Pub. L. 103-31
Requires covered states to offer voter registration through motor-vehicle agencies and to 'accept and use' the federal registration form, which attests citizenship under penalty of perjury without documentary proof — the statutory frame at the center of the proof-of-citizenship debate (see Arizona v. ITCA in Court Watch).
ElectionsRegistration - EnactedFederal · United States · 2002
Help America Vote Act of 2002
Pub. L. 107-252
Created the Election Assistance Commission and set statewide voter-registration database and list-maintenance standards — the administrative machinery any federal proof-of-citizenship requirement would run through.
ElectionsAdministration - Passed HouseFederal · United States · 2025
Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act
H.R. 22, 119th Cong.
Would require documentary proof of citizenship to register for federal elections — the congressional route Arizona v. ITCA left open. Passed the House in April 2025; awaits Senate action. NCI supports the approach paired with free, accessible documentation so no eligible citizen is turned away (see the franchise paper).
ElectionsRegistration - IntroducedFederal · United States · 2001–present
DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors)
Various (first S. 1291, 107th Cong.)
Repeatedly introduced since 2001 to create a conditional path to lawful status and eventual citizenship for certain individuals brought to the U.S. as children. Has passed one chamber at times but has not been enacted.
Path to CitizenshipChildren - IntroducedFederal · United States · 2007–present
Birthright Citizenship Act (recurring proposals)
Various congresses (e.g. H.R. 1940, 110th Cong.)
A recurring class of bills that would, by statute, limit automatic citizenship for some children born in the United States. None has been enacted. After Trump v. Barbara (2026) — where the Court held the Fourteenth Amendment covers the children at issue, while Justice Kavanaugh's concurrence noted Congress "could amend" 8 U.S.C. § 1401 or enact statutory exceptions — these proposals are the live congressional vehicle, though any enacted statute would be tested against Barbara's constitutional holding.
BirthrightConstitutional - EnactedState · Arizona · 2010
Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act
Arizona SB 1070
A state immigration-enforcement law whose key provisions were largely enjoined after Arizona v. United States (2012) held that federal law preempts much state action in this field — a landmark on the state/federal boundary.
EnforcementPreemption - EnactedState · California · 2013
AB 60 — Driver's Licenses
California AB 60
Authorized California driver's licenses regardless of immigration status — an example of state policy on documentation and daily life that sits alongside the federal citizenship framework.
DocumentationState Policy
Curated, hand-verified reference set focused on enacted and historically significant measures. Real-time federal and state bill status (sponsors, committee progress, votes) connects to Congress.gov and state legislatures in a later phase.