The US Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld birthright citizenship in a landmark ruling that handed a setback to President Donald Trump, who had signed an executive order at the start of his second term to revise the policy he said was a “disgrace.”
With the verdict is favour of the 14th Amendment,observed that citizenship was promised to “every free-born person in this land”.
“Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights — to freely participate in our political community. The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land.’ We keep that promise today,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in the majority ruling.
Enshrined in 1868, birthright citizenship was established after the Civil War to ensure rights were granted to all.
Over the next few years, the concept of US citizenship by birth was strengthened by court orders. Here’s a look at the origins of the clause.
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What is birthright citizenship?
Birthright citizenship in the US is based on the principle of “jus soli” or “right of the soil”. It means anyone born on American soil is considered a US citizen under the 14th Amendment.
Besides jus soli, the US grants citizenship on the basis of the nationality or citizenship of one or both parents: jus sanguinis (right of blood), and naturalisation, where an immigrant (or alien) is granted citizenship by the government.
How it came to be
In 1857, the Supreme Court ruled that descendants of Africans, enslaved or free, were not citizens in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case.
The Dred Scott v. Sanford case emerged in the run-up to the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery.
Scott, who was an enslaved African-American man, was taken by his “owner” from Missouri, where slaves were allowed, into Illinois and Wisconsin Territory, where slavery had been made illegal.
After his “owners” brought Scott back to Missouri, he sued for his freedom and claimed that since he had been taken into a “free territory,” he was no longer a slave.
As the hearing went on, the Supreme Court issued a 7-2 decision against Scott, stating that people of African descent “are not included, and were not intended to be included, under the word ‘citizens’ in the Constitution, and can therefore claim none of the rights and privileges which that instrument provides for and secures to citizens of the United States.”
The change only came after the
In 1868, the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution was ratified to expand citizenship rights and cement the status of those freed from slavery.
“All persons born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws,” reads the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment.
The case of Wong Kim Ark
In 1898, SCOTUS made another landmark decision regarding citizenship by recognising the rights of children born to immigrants in the US.
Wong Kim Ark, born in San Francisco to Chinese parents, was denied re-entry into the US due to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which prohibited all immigration of the Chinese and denied Chinese residents in the US from becoming citizens.
Wong moved the court and challenged the government’s decision to negate his citizenship. The Supreme Court ruled in his favour, establishing that the 14th Amendment also applies to children born in the US to immigrants (aliens), undocumented immigrants and tourists.
The Supreme Court further noted that the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” in the clause strictly referred to children of diplomats and children born of “alien enemies in hostile occupation”.
Which countries offer birthright citizenship?
As of 2026, around 33 countries offer unrestricted birthright citizenship to those born within their borders.
As per the World Factbook issued by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the countries with unconditional birthright citizenship are –
Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Gambia, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Lesotho, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
According to the Pew Research Centre, countries such as Greece, Iran, France and Morocco grant citizenship to any child whose parents were born in those countries.
Meanwhile, in Australia, Germany, and the UK, citizenship is granted to any child born to a legal resident of those countries. In Israel, Haiti and Liberia, the law is more restrictive, and birthright citizenship is offered to those who fall under defined criteria.
In India, birthright citizenship is governed by the Citizenship Act of 1995, which states that the right to Indian citizenship is determined by the date of birth and the citizenship status of the parents.
