Birthright citizenship grants citizenship to anyone born within a country’s borders, including territorial waters and airspace. It is widely adopted but controversial. The US has held it in high esteem since its inception, while some European countries have only recently adopted it. The controversy revolves around using it to grant legal residency to parents or family members. Some suggest the issue may become more prevalent in the future.
Birthright citizenship, also known as jus soli, confers the right of citizenship to any person born within the boundaries of a territory. In some cases, this may include births in territorial waters and even in nationally owned airspace. Birthright citizenship is a widely adopted practice around the world, but has led to considerable controversy over immigration practices.
Birthright citizenship practices mean that a person need only be born in a country to obtain permanent citizenship as a member of that country. This is in contrast to other practices, such as jus sanguinis or blood law, which means that a person must be a child of a citizen to be granted citizenship. Many modern countries operate with a mixture of the two practices, granting citizenship or legal residency to those born in the country, but also allowing those with qualified parents or grandparents to register as citizens.
The United States has held the practice of birthright citizenship in high esteem since almost the nation’s inception. Influenced by earlier English law, several United States Supreme Court cases closely linked the ideas of birthright and allegiance, including United States v. Rhodes in 1866 and United States v. Wong Kim Ark in 1898. Another important factor in the law of the United States relating to ius soli is the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states that a citizen is a person “born or naturalized” in the United States.
Not all countries have always adopted birthright citizenship. Germany, for example, operated on a strict parental citizenship basis until 2000. Much of Europe, with the exception of France, in the past tended to rely more on jus sanguinis statutes rather than birthright to determine citizenship. In the 21st century, many European countries allow citizenship to be conferred on children born and raised entirely in the territory, once they reach adulthood.
The recent birthright citizenship controversy revolves around using the birth of a child to grant legal residency to parents or family members. If, for example, a child is born on US soil, he is a US citizen even if his parents and siblings are not. There have been numerous attempts in the US Congress to deny citizenship to the children of illegal aliens, as critics of ius alone suggest that the 14th amendment was not intended to include those who had entered the country through illegal means. As of 2010, no such revocation has come close to becoming law, but some suggest the issue may have more precedence in the future.
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