Rights & liberties
birthright citizenship
The Fourteenth Amendment's rule that all persons born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens, regardless of their parents' status.
In full
United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) confirmed that the clause applies to children of noncitizen parents. The subject to the jurisdiction phrase has been read to exclude children of foreign diplomats and, historically, members of tribes not taxed, a gap Congress closed by statute in 1924. Citizenship is also acquired by naturalization and, in some circumstances, through citizen parents abroad.
Where to go next
Keep going
Browse every term in the glossary, or see the vocabulary in motion in the How government works walkthroughs.
A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.