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As the debate over birthright citizenship is debated in the Supreme Court, resurfaced videos of top Democrats echoing the argument of the Trump administration sparked a conservative uproar on social media.
“If making it easy to be an illegal alien isn’t enough, how about offering a reward for being an illegal immigrant?” Former U.S. Senator Harry Reid said on the Senate floor 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 reward that child with U.S. citizenship and [a] guarantee of full access to all public and social services this society provides — and that’s a lot of services.”
Reid, who served in the Senate as a Democrat for 30 years and was Senate Majority Leader for 8 years, was speaking about the Immigration Stabilization Act of 1993 which he introduced. The legislation was a broad immigration reform package that included a provision to deny birthright citizenship to children born in the U.S. to mothers who were neither U.S. citizens nor lawful permanent residents.
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US 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, ultimately changed his tune on the legislation and said in 2018 that the bill was a “mistake.”
Many on social media quickly pointed to Reid’s lofty stature within the Democratic Party and wondered aloud why he is not labeled “racist” the same way Republicans who oppose birthright citizenship often are.
“WOW,” conservative influencer Libs of TikTok posted on X. “Senator Harry Reid, a DEMOCRAT, introduced a bill in 1993 to END birthright citizenship for illegal aliens .But if Trump wants to do it, Democrats call it ‘rAcIsT.’”
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“Lots of Democrats supported 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 ‘no sane country’ would give birthright citizenship to illegal aliens,” Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) posted on X. “Now, breaking our laws is rewarded with full US citizenship and access to every government benefit. SCOTUS should END this exploitation once and for all!”
“Harry Reid was right,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted on X.
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Demonstrators holding opposing views verbally engage ahead of President Donald Trump’s arrival at the U.S. Supreme Court, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (Tom Brenner/AP)
Another Democrat, the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein from California, also became fodder on social media in recent days over similar comments on immigration that were viewed over 8 million times after being posted by MAZE, a conservative influencer account on X.
“Should you have a system where people can come to this country, even if they’re well-to-do?” Feinstein said in 1993. Get on Medicaid and give birth to 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’d like to see that stop.”
The resurfaced posts come as the Trump administration argues at the Supreme Court in favor of an executive order signed on the president’s first day back in office, which seeks to end automatic citizenship for nearly all persons born in the U.S. to undocumented parents, or to parents with temporary non-immigrant visas in the U.S.
The high-stakes case brought into focus 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 — which the administration argues has been misinterpreted in the more than 100 years since its passage.
Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
