Which current members of the 119th Congress are naturalized U.S. citizens and where were they born?

Checked on January 14, 2026
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Executive summary

The 119th Congress includes a measurable cohort of foreign‑born members: congressional research and Pew data show 26 Representatives and six Senators were born outside the United States, and roughly 15% of members are immigrants or children of immigrants [1] [2]. Public reporting and aggregated databases identify a handful of naturalized members by name and place of birth — for example Senator Mazie Hirono was born in Japan, and Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Shri Thanedar were born in India — but the provided sources do not supply a complete, name‑by‑name roster of every naturalized member of the 119th Congress [3] [2].

1. The numeric picture: how many foreign‑born members and where they came from

Congressional Research Service and other official tallies report that 32 members (26 in the House, six in the Senate) of the 119th Congress were born outside the United States, with places of birth including Cuba, Germany, Guatemala, India, Japan, South Korea, Peru, and Ukraine, indicating geographic diversity among foreign‑born lawmakers [1]. Pew’s analysis aligns with that scale, noting that immigrants and children of immigrants account for at least 15% of the chamber and that 61 House members and 19 Senators are foreign born or have at least one parent born abroad in their broader count of immigrant connections [2]. The official Senate directory separately documents that foreign‑born senators are relatively uncommon and that constitutional requirements focus on years of citizenship rather than birthplace for eligibility [4].

2. Known, named naturalized members and their birthplaces that appear in reporting

Some specific naturalized members are directly identified in the provided sources: Sen. Mazie Keiko Hirono is identified as the lone naturalized senator in the cited reporting and is documented as born in Japan [3]. Statista and related reporting also single out Representative Pramila Jayapal (D‑WA) and Representative Shri Thanedar (D‑MI) as born in India, marking them among the Indian‑born contingent in the House [3]. These named examples underscore that naturalized members span both chambers and include members whose origins trace to Asia and other regions noted by CRS [1] [3].

3. What the sources do not provide: the limitation on producing an exhaustive named list

The assembled sources establish counts, country lists and a few high‑profile names but do not include a complete, source‑verified roster of every naturalized member of the 119th Congress that can be cited here; the House Clerk’s “Foreign Born” document is listed as a source but its detailed entries are not reproduced in the provided excerpts, and neither the CRS summary nor Pew’s brief supplies a full name‑by‑birthplace table in the quoted material [5] [1] [2]. Because the available reporting emphasizes aggregate totals and selected examples, an authoritative, exhaustive list of all naturalized members and each member’s birthplace cannot be compiled from the provided materials alone without consulting the underlying biographical databases or the full Clerk/CRS files [5] [1].

4. Context and trends: why this matters politically and demographically

The presence of dozens of foreign‑born members in the 119th Congress reflects a steady representation of immigrants in federal office and a continuity from recent Congresses; CRS and Pew note that immigrant participation has stabilized at a higher plateau than in past decades and that origins cluster in certain states and regions, with Western states and California especially well represented among those with immigrant backgrounds [1] [2]. Constitutional rules require specific years of citizenship for service (seven years for the House, nine for the Senate), which is why naturalized status is common and fully compatible with congressional service, while the presidency remains the only federal office reserved to "natural‑born" citizens [4] [1].

5. Bottom line

The 119th Congress contains a defined cohort of foreign‑born and naturalized members — 26 Representatives and six Senators by CRS counts — and named examples in the provided reporting include Sen. Mazie Hirono (born in Japan) and Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Shri Thanedar (born in India) [1] [3]. A complete, verifiable name‑by‑birthplace listing for every naturalized member is not present in the supplied source excerpts; compiling that exhaustive roster would require consulting the full Clerk of the House foreign‑born document or the detailed biographical records referenced by CRS and Pew [5] [1] [2].

Want to dive deeper?
Which members of the 119th Congress were born in countries listed by the CRS (Cuba, Germany, Guatemala, India, Japan, South Korea, Peru, Ukraine)?
Where can the full House Clerk 'Foreign Born' PDF be accessed and how does it list individual members and birthplaces?
How have immigrant and naturalized members of Congress influenced immigration policy debates in recent sessions?