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 … Thanks to the Expatriation Act, passed by Congress in 1907 and repealed in 1922, my great-aunt … spent part of her life as a natural-born alien.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

Still coming are major decisions on birthright citizenship and transgender athletes. — Adam Beam, AJC.com, 29 June 2026

There are no figures on how many children born to noncitizens have received Mexican birthright citizenship. — Julie Watson, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026

Big rulings are expected tomorrow on birthright citizenship and transgender sports. — Daniel Wine, CNN Money, 29 June 2026

One of the biggest decisions involves birthright citizenship, which is expected to come down on Tuesday. — Marissa Armas, CBS News, 29 June 2026

Justices are expected to rule on birthright citizenship as early as next week. — Brian Mann, NPR, 27 June 2026

In the birthright citizenship decision, what the justices are looking at is the language of the Constitutional Amendment creating birthright citizenship, how it's been interpreted, and including a law that codified that amendment. — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 26 June 2026

Because Kuwait has no birthright citizenship, the only place Hatem could go outside of the United States is Syria. — Allison Kiehl, Chicago Tribune, 26 June 2026

What does the Constitution say about birthright citizenship? — Devin Dwyer, ABC News, 26 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1865, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for birthright citizenship

• airship
• airstrip
• clerkship
• courtship
• equip
• filmstrip
• flagship
• headship
• heirship
• judgeship
• kinship
• lightship