Birthright citizenship in the United States is acquired by virtue of the circumstances of birth. It contrasts with citizenship acquired in other ways, for example by naturalization.
Pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), U.S. citizenship is automatically granted to any person born within and subject to the jurisdiction of the United States (known as jus soli). This includes the territories of Puerto Rico, the Marianas (Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands), and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Birthright citizenship also applies to children born elsewhere in the world to U.S. citizens (with certain exceptions), known as jus sanguinis.
The policy stems from the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, stating "[a]ll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside," and was meant to override the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford decision that denied African Americans citizenship.
The application of birthright citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants remains controversial among right-wing politicians.
The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that approximately 7.5% of all births in the U.S. (about 300,000 births per year) are to unauthorized immigrants.
The Pew Hispanic Center also estimates that there are 4.5 million children who were born to unauthorized immigrants that received citizenship via birth in the United States; while the Migration Policy Institute estimates that there are 4.1 million children. Both estimates exclude anyone eighteen and older who might have benefited.
SOURCE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthright_citizenship_in_the_United_States
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