Jus soli is the legal rule that determines a child’s citizenship based on their place of birth, while jus sanguinis is based on the citizenship of their parents. Most countries follow jus sanguinis, but the US follows jus soli. Some countries have made it more difficult for children of foreign parents to obtain citizenship. The US also recognizes jus sanguinis under certain circumstances. Diplomats’ children are an exception to jus soli. Some US politicians have considered abolishing jus soli due to illegal immigration, but it would require changing the 14th amendment.
Jus soli, or land law in Latin, is the legal rule according to which a child’s citizenship is determined by his or her place of birth. The opposite legal norm is the jus sanguinis, or blood law. Jus sanguinis holds that a child’s citizenship is determined by the citizenship of his or her parents.
Most countries adhere to the jus sanguinis rule. The ruling rule in America is jus soli, as established in the 14th amendment to the US Constitution. Consequently, all persons born in the United States are automatically American citizens, no matter where their parents were born or what citizenship they hold.
In the 19th century, many nations were divided between those recognizing jus soli and those in which jus sanguinis reigned. The latter remains the preferred citizenship rule across Europe, with the exceptions of France and Germany after the 19th century. Labor migration has complicated the strict enforcement of any of these citizenship rules over the past half-century.
Some countries like New Zealand, the UK and Australia have changed the rule over the last couple of decades. The changes tend to make it more difficult for children of foreign parents to automatically apply for citizenship. It is increasingly common to require one parent to be a permanent resident.
Although jus soli is the controlling rule regarding citizenship in the United States, the US government also recognizes jus sanguinis under certain circumstances. A child born to US citizen parents is automatically a citizen regardless of where the birth occurs. If the child was born after November 14, 1986, only one parent needs to hold US citizenship for the child to be considered a US citizen.
Children born to foreign diplomats stationed in America are the exception to the jus soli rule in the United States. The 14th Amendment states that, in order to be a citizen, a person born in the United States must be subject to American jurisdiction. Foreign diplomats have diplomatic immunity while on American soil, are not subject to US jurisdiction, and therefore their children cannot claim citizenship under jus soli.
American politicians have considered abolishing ius alone on several occasions. The motivating factor for abolition is often illegal immigration; some politicians want to deny automatic citizenship to children born in the United States to illegal immigrant parents. Such a change has yet to be successful because it would most likely require changing the 14th amendment to the constitution.
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