Birthright Citizenship

Birthright citizenship is a legal principle under which citizenship is automatically granted to individuals upon birth. There are two forms of birthright citizenship: ancestry-based citizenship and birthplace-based citizenship. In the U.S., birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Specifically, it states that "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." This principle was confirmed by the 1898 Supreme Court case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which clarified that children born in the U.S. to immigrant parents are citizens, regardless of their parents' immigration status.