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
Cameron SmithBirthright 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
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 … Thanks to the Expatriation Act, passed by Congress in 1907 and repealed in 1922, my great-aunt … spent part of her life as a natural-born alien.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
Marcia Biederman Examples of birthright citizenship in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
It is expected by late June to rule in additional major cases involving Trump, including his efforts to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and restrict birthright citizenship.
—Andrew Chung, USA Today, 7 May 2026
About 64% of survey respondents oppose ending birthright citizenship, and a majority are against expanding the border wall.
—Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026
About two-thirds of Americans oppose ending birthright citizenship (65%), including about 9 in 10 Democrats and 7 in 10 independents.
—Emily Guskin, ABC News, 3 May 2026
Although constitutional experts and other scholars have relied on the amendment’s legal history to show that birthright citizenship has been the law without exception for well more than a century, newspaper archives offer another useful trove of evidence.
—Lawrence Glickman, The Atlantic, 28 Apr. 2026
Ninety percent of Democrats, 66 percent of independents and 36 percent of Republicans say birthright citizenship should stand as is, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll.
—Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 27 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
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Andrew Chung, USA Today, 7 May 2026
About 64% of survey respondents oppose ending birthright citizenship, and a majority are against expanding the border wall.
—Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026
About two-thirds of Americans oppose ending birthright citizenship (65%), including about 9 in 10 Democrats and 7 in 10 independents.
—Emily Guskin, ABC News, 3 May 2026
Although constitutional experts and other scholars have relied on the amendment’s legal history to show that birthright citizenship has been the law without exception for well more than a century, newspaper archives offer another useful trove of evidence.
—Lawrence Glickman, The Atlantic, 28 Apr. 2026
Ninety percent of Democrats, 66 percent of independents and 36 percent of Republicans say birthright citizenship should stand as is, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll.
—Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 27 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
Cite this Entry
“Birthright citizenship.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/birthright%20citizenship. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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