birthright citizenship

noun

: a rule that the citizenship of a child is determined by the place of the child's birth : jus soli

In United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898), the Supreme Court thoroughly examined the meaning and intent of the 14th Amendment as it applies to birthright citizenship. The Court concluded that the Constitution "affirms the ancient and fundamental rule of citizenship by birth within the territory."

—Cameron Smith

Birthright citizenship, also known as jus soli (right of the soil), is relatively uncommon. There are 195 countries in the world, and only 30 of them have it—just 15 percent. Most of the countries with birthright citizenship are in North and South America.

—Nolan Rappaport

also : the citizenship conferred by this rule

Born on Manhattan's Delancey Street and raised in the Bronx, my great-aunt Libby lost her birthright citizenship at age 20 when she married an immigrant. … Thanks to the Expatriation Act, passed by Congress in 1907 and repealed in 1922, my great-aunt … spent part of her life as a natural-born alien.

—Marcia Biederman

compare jus sanguinis

Examples of birthright citizenship in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

During the arguments, the justices seemed inclined to find that Trump can’t change the rules for birthright citizenship through an executive order. —Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2026

By resting the thrust of their argument on Trumbull’s quote, the opponents of birthright citizenship engage in a classic first-year law student mistake of not reading the entirety of the text in question. —Ediberto Roman, Sun Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2026

The courts have routinely upheld birthright citizenship for over a century. —Jessica Mekles, FOXNews.com, 9 Apr. 2026

Sharpton is also concerned about last week’s arguments before the Supreme Court on the administration’s bid to dismantle birthright citizenship. —David Weigel, semafor.com, 8 Apr. 2026

Whether the president knew it or not, originalism sounds the death knell for his executive order ending birthright citizenship. —Noah Feldman, Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2026

Today on the show, the story of Wong Kim Ark, a man born in San Francisco to Chinese parents, whose Supreme Court case defined birthright citizenship more than a century ago. —Kyana Moghadam, NPR, 7 Apr. 2026

Fox News host Mark Levin on Sunday said birthright citizenship was never mentioned in the Constitution. —Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 6 Apr. 2026

His day began with an unusual appearance as a spectator at the Supreme Court hearing on birthright citizenship. —Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 6 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1865, in the meaning defined above