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United States citizenship can be acquired by birthright in two situations: by virtue of the person's birth within United States territory (jus soli) or because at least one of their parents was a U.S. citizen at the time of the person's birth (jus sanguinis).[1] Birthright citizenship contrasts with citizenship acquired in other ways, for example by naturalization.[2]
Birthright citizenship is guaranteed to most people born within U.S. territory (other than American Samoa) by the first part of the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (adopted July 9, 1868), which states:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.
The Amendment overrode the Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) that denied U.S. citizenship to African Americans, whether born in the United States or not, and whether a slave or a free person.[3] Pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, a person born within and subject to the jurisdiction of the United States automatically acquires U.S. citizenship, known as jus soli ("right of the soil").[4] This includes the territories of Puerto Rico, the Marianas (Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands), and the U.S. Virgin Islands.[5][6] The "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" clause excluded Native Americans living under tribal sovereignty, and U.S.-born children of foreign diplomats. Birthright citizenship was later extended to U.S.-born Native American subjects by the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. Federal law also grants birthright citizenship to children born elsewhere in the world to U.S. citizens (with certain exceptions), known as jus sanguinis ("right of blood").
The Pew Hispanic Center estimated that in 2016, approximately 6% of all births in the U.S. (about 250,000 out of 4 million births per year) were to unauthorized immigrants, and a population of 5 million children under 18 with at least one unauthorized parent were living in the United States. In 2018, the Migration Policy Institute estimated numbers at 4.1 million children.[7][8]
Political opposition to jus soli birthright citizenship has arisen in the United States over the past several decades, punctuated by the election of Donald Trump – who explicitly opposes jus soli citizenship – as President of the United States in 2016 and 2024.[9] Most legal observers agree that the Fourteenth Amendment explicitly endorses jus soli citizenship, but a dissenting view holds that the Fourteenth Amendment does not apply to the children of unauthorized immigrants born on US soil.
Upon taking office in 2025, President Trump issued an executive order asserting that the federal government would not recognize jus soli birthright citizenship for the children of non-citizens, rejecting the previous understanding that the Fourteenth Amendment's language, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States ... are citizens of the United States," guarantees them citizenship.[10][11] Twenty-two states and the American Civil Liberties Union have filed lawsuits against the Trump Administration to declare Executive Order 14156 unconstitutional and to block its enforcement.[12][13]
- ^ Lee, Margaret Mikyung (January 10, 2012). "Birthright Citizenship Under the 14th Amendment of Persons Born in the United States to Alien Parents" (PDF). Federation of American Scientists. Congressional Research Service.
- ^ ("The term 'naturalization' means the conferring of nationality of a state upon a person after birth, by any means whatsoever.") (emphasis added).
- ^ Smith, Rogers M. (2009). "Birthright Citizenship and the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868 and 2008". University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law. 11 (5): 1329–1336.
- ^ 8 U.S.C. § 1401 ("Nationals and citizens of United States at birth").
- ^ See (defining "State") and (defining "United States").
- ^ Weiner 1998, p. 238.
- ^ Zitner, Aaron (August 20, 2015). "Birthright Citizenship, by the Numbers". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Passel, Jeffery S.; Cohn, D'Vera; Gramlich, John (November 1, 2018). "Number of babies born to unauthorized immigrants in U.S. continues to decline". Pew Research Center. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
- ^ Ehrenfreund, Max (August 17, 2015). "Understanding Trump's plan to end citizenship for undocumented immigrants' kids". Washington Post.
- ^ Liptak, Adam (October 30, 2018). "Trump's Birthright Citizenship Proposal Is at Odds With Legal Consensus". New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
- ^ Valdes, Marcela (January 18, 2025). "Birthright Citizenship Defined America. Trump Wants to Redefine It". New York Times. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
- ^ Catalini, Mike (January 23, 2025). "22 states sue to stop Trump's order blocking birthright citizenship". MSN. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
- ^ Jansen, Bart (January 24, 2025). "18 states, ACLU file lawsuits against Trump order that seeks to end birthright citizenship". USA Today. Retrieved January 23, 2025.