Trump wants to end birthright citizenship. Where do other countries stand?
President Donald Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship in the US has sparked several legal challenges and some anxiety among immigrant families.
Trump wants to end birthright citizenship. Where do other countries stand?President Donald Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship in the US has sparked several legal challenges and some anxiety among immigrant families.But as part of his crackdown on migrant numbers, Trump is seeking to deny citizenship to children of migrants who are either in the country illegally or on temporary visas.Birthright citizenship, or jus soli (right of the soil), is not the norm globally.
The US is one of about 30 countries - mostly in the Americas - that grant automatic citizenship to anyone born within their borders.In contrast, many countries in Asia, Europe, and parts of Africa adhere to the jus sanguinis (right of blood) principle, where children inherit their nationality from their parents, regardless of their birthplace.Other countries have a combination of both principles, also Cildren.
Trump wants to end birthright citizenship. Where do other countries stanGetty Images Two US passports against the backdrop of the US flagGetty ImagesThe US gives automatic citizenship to anyone born in the country, but this principle is not the norm globallyPresident Donald Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship in the US has sparked several legal challenges and some anxiety among immigrant families.For nearly 160 years, the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution has established the principle that anyone born in the country is a US citizen.But as part of his crackdown on migrant numbers, Trump is seeking to deny citizenship to children of migrants who are either in the country illegally or on temporary visas.The move appears to have public backing. A poll by Emerson College suggests many more Americans back Trump than oppose him on thin
The US is one of about 30 countries - mostly in the Americas - that grant automatic citizenship to anyone born within their borders
In contrast, many countries in Asia, Europe, and parts of Africa adhere to the jus sanguinis (right of blood) principle, where children inherit their nationality from their parents, regardless of their birthplace.Other countries have a combination of both principles, also granting citizenship to children of permanent residents.
Map showing that most countries in the Americas grant birthright citizenship; much of Asia, central and east Europe, and north-east Africa go by descent; much of southern and west Africa, many western European countries, and Australia have mixed policies. John Skrentny, a sociology professor at the University of California, San Diego, believes that, though birthright citizenship or jus soli is common throughout the Americas, "each nation-state had its own unique road to it".
"For example, some involved slaves and former slaves, some did not. History is complicated," he says. In the US, the 14th Amendment was adopted to address the legal status of freed slaves.However, Mr Skrentny argues that what almost all had in common was "building a nation-state from a former colony".
"They had to be strategic about whom to include and whom to exclude, and how to make the nation-state governable," he explains. "For many, birthright citizenship, based on being born in the territory, made for their state-building goals.
