What is birthright citizenship, what would the repealing of birthright citizenship look like and what is the current state of the birthright citizenship case?

Birthright citizenship is the legal principle that a person automatically becomes a citizen of a country upon birth there. In the United States, this right comes from Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which states that anyone born or naturalized in the U.S. and under its jurisdiction is a citizen. 

The U.S. generally follows jus soli (citizenship based on place of birth), meaning most people born on U.S. soil are citizens regardless of their parents’ immigration status, with limited exceptions such as children of foreign diplomats. U.S. law also recognizes jus sanguinis, which allows children born abroad to U.S. citizen parents to obtain citizenship if certain legal requirements are met. This interpretation of birthright citizenship was confirmed by the Supreme Court in United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898).

Sources:

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/about-immigration/birthright-citizenship/

https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/amdt14-S1-1-2/ALDE_00000812/

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/169/649/

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The repealing of birthright citizenship would achieve the opposite of what the current presidency intends – to reduce unauthorized immigration. According to the Migration Policy Institute, challenging this statute would increase the amount of unauthorized population in the U.S., creating a subclass of citizens who would face constant challenges and barriers, as they would not possess the rights that citizenship grants. 

 

Education-wise, immigrant-origin students account for 32% of higher education enrollment (HIP). With the birthright citizenship repeal, immigrant-origin students’ enrollment would decrease severely, and broader statistics of higher education in the U.S. would face a downtrend.

 

Not only that, the U.S. economy would be deeply affected by this repeal. Repeal would create barriers to educational attainment, in turn hindering professional achievement. According to the Center for Migration Studies, it is estimated that birthright citizenship citizens will have contributed $7.7 trillion to the U.S. economy between 1975 and 2074. If birthright citizenship were eliminated, there would be no economic contributions from children yet unborn, contributions that could amount to $1 trillion in earnings and represent 400,000 college-educated workers (CIM).

 

So the Supreme Court Justice will be listening to arguments on Wednesday, April 1st, 2026 (Not part of the question, more like a note).

 

(https://www.migrationpolicy.org/news/birthright-citizenship-repeal-projections)

 

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As of April 2026, the Supreme Court Justice has heard the arguments from Solicitor General D. John Sauer, on behalf of the Trump administration, and  ACLU Director and Lawyer, Cecillia Wang, on behalf of the people challenging the executive order. The Supreme Court Judges are expected to make a decision by early summer (AP News). If the Supreme Court upholds the rulings of the lower courts, it would invalidate the executive order and confirm that citizenship is guaranteed for children born on U.S. soil.