Advocates for restricting birthright citizenship argue that some parents aren't 'fully subject to US jurisdiction'

Birthright citizenship guarantees US citizenship to anyone born on US soil

Rooted in the 14th Amendment, birthright citizenship prevents the creation of a permanent noncitizen class by granting citizenship at birth, but it has become a focal point of modern political efforts to restrict immigration.

Birthright citizenship grants citizenship to those born on a country's soil

The United States grants citizenship to individuals born in its territory—excluding the children of foreign diplomats and those born in American Samoa—regardless of their parents' citizenship status. This principle—known as jus soli—was established in the 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868.

A poll from May 2025 found that a majority of Americans oppose ending birthright citizenship

As legal challenges progressed, a May 2025 NPR/Ipsos poll showed fewer than one-third of Americans supported eliminating birthright citizenship, despite broader public backing for other immigration restrictions.

Unconditional birthright citizenship is rare outside the Americas

Around 30 countries, mostly in the Americas, grant automatic citizenship by birthplace. Elsewhere—especially in Europe, Asia, and Africa—citizenship typically follows jus sanguinis, based on parental descent rather than location of birth.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in 2025 to restrict birthright citizenship

In 2025, President Trump signed an order attempting to end automatic citizenship for children born to undocumented immigrants or temporary visa holders—limiting it to those with a US citizen or permanent resident parent.

The 14th Amendment aimed to guarantee citizenship for formerly enslaved people

The 14th Amendment was crafted to overturn Dred Scott by granting birthright citizenship to formerly enslaved people and their descendants, securing their legal status under federal law.

The Supreme Court limited federal judges' power to issue nationwide injunctions in 2025

In a 2025 decision arising from litigation over a presidential order on birthright citizenship, the Supreme Court held that individual federal judges may not nationwide block executive policies—curbing the use of sweeping injunctions and reshaping how constitutional challenges proceed through the courts.

Early American citizenship was defined inconsistently by individual states

The original US Constitution did not define national citizenship, leaving it to the states to apply their own rules. This led to inconsistent and often exclusionary standards across the country until after the Civil War.

The reservation system gives tribes limited self-governance while keeping them under federal control

Federal law designates Native nations as "domestic dependent nations"—a legal category that recognizes limited tribal sovereignty while subordinating tribes to federal authority. This ambiguous status, introduced by Chief Justice John Marshall's 1831 opinion in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, has shaped conflicts over land and governance ever since.

'Statelessness: Citizens of Nowhere' podcast examines how statelessness erodes identity

This podcast series explores how millions live without citizenship or legal status. Through expert interviews and personal stories, it examines how history, borders, and policy can leave entire populations without citizenship and rights.

Sanctuary cities limit local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement

Sanctuary cities limit how local agencies help ICE—such as restricting detainers, jail transfers, or data sharing—while still enforcing criminal law, leaving immigration enforcement mostly to federal authorities.

Studies show immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than native-born Americans

Research examining incarceration records and crime data generally finds that immigrants—including undocumented individuals—have lower crime and incarceration rates than US-born citizens, though measurement is limited by gaps in national data on immigration status.

The Trump administration said the new H‑1B fee curbs abuse but still attracts top talent

In announcing a fee on new H‑1B petitions, the Trump administration claimed the visa was exploited to replace American workers and suppress wages. Officials argued that a steep fee would deter abuse while still allowing employers to bring in the "best of the best" temporary foreign talent.

The 1924 Immigration Act established national-origin quotas favoring certain regions

The Johnson-Reed Act established stringent national-origin quotas favoring northern and Western Europeans while restricting immigration from other regions. This article chronicles the act's origins, its implications, and subsequent efforts to overturn these restrictions.

Watch scholars debate Supreme Court term limits

In a debate from 2017, legal scholars from across the political spectrum spar over whether justices should serve fixed terms. The discussion highlights bipartisan concerns about judicial independence, accountability, and the risks of lifetime tenure.

Multiple legal pathways exist for immigrating to the United States

This comprehensive guide outlines various routes to US immigration, including family-sponsored and employment-based visas, as well as humanitarian protections. Navigate the complex American immigration system and understand the options available to prospective immigrants seeking legal entry.

Pierce v. Society of Sisters limited state power over how parents educate their children

In striking down Oregon’s attempt to ban private schools, the Supreme Court held that forcing children into public education violated substantive due process, affirming that parents—not the state—have a fundamental right to direct their children’s upbringing and education.

The Ninth Amendment clarifies that people hold additional rights, not granted by the Constitution

The Founders worried that listing specific rights might imply that others didn't exist. The Ninth clarifies that unenumerated rights are retained by the people, making it one of the most philosophical and least litigated amendments.

States are constitutionally mandated to draw their own congressional districts

Under Article I, Section 4 of the US Constitution, state legislatures possess the authority to determine how congressional districts are drawn. However, Congress retains the power to alter these rules if it chooses to.

What are baby bonds?

In 2008, Hillary Clinton proposed giving every US newborn a $5,000 government-funded trust, often called a “baby bond,” to help low-income families build long-term wealth. Supporters said it could reduce wealth inequality, while critics argued existing programs like the Child Tax Credit offered similar benefits.

IVF is legal across America, but some worry that state bans could curtail this reproductive technology

This reproductive technology is available across the US, but if states take action to prohibit the discarding of unused embryos or pass related legislation, it could affect access to IVF. Laws prohibiting IVF or effectively outlawing the procedure by defining personhood as being conferred at the moment of conception have been under discussion in several states in recent years, including Ohio, Virginia, and Texas.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

An anthropologist analyzes the Japanese movement against having children

Broadly known as anti-natalism, the philosophical stance against having children stems from a variety of factors. In Japan, it arises amid low fertility rates, economic pressures, and ethical concerns. This essay explores the reasons some Japanese embrace the philosophy.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

Federalist 51 argues that liberty could be protected within the national government

In Federalist 51, James Madison wrote that separating powers and pitting their ambitions against one another would restrain federal overreach from within, reducing reliance on state resistance as the sole check on national authority.

Not all speech in the United States is protected

This page explains the categories of speech—including defamation, incitement, true threats, fraud, and obscenity—the Supreme Court has placed outside First Amendment protection and how courts determine which standard to apply when speech is challenged.

US lawmakers banned TikTok in 2024 for security purposes

After years of concerns about ByteDance Ltd.'s affiliation with the Chinese government, Congress passed a bill banning TikTok in the US. The main argument favoring the ban is that Beijing could use the wildly popular app to run foreign influence campaigns. Americans opposed to the ban say the law will negatively impact the livelihoods for TikTok shops and influencers.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children

In recent years a child anxiety expert has created and tested a novel phobia and anxiety treatment approach for children, focused on changing how parents respond to the fears.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

All rainbows are 'raincircles' caused by water droplets separating white sunlight into a spectrum of colors, but Earth's surface blocks the bottom half of the circle from our line of sight.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

One of the most famous portraits ever taken is 'Afghan Girl' (1984) by Steve McCurry, yet the subject Sharbat Gula went much of her life without being identified or benefitting from the image's success.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

Salvador Dalí believed he was his own dead brother, who had died nine months before he was born

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

The syncytiotrophoblast is the outer layer of the placenta and the largest human cell, spanning an area about twice that of a king-sized bedsheet.

Corals are themselves not coral reefs—the term refers to the tiny marine invertebrates that build the rigid reef.

Poison ivy's rash-causing compound is found in the plant's roots, stem, and leaves—so coming into contact with any part of the plant can lead to rashes for the 85% of people who are allergic to it.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Ebola species have historically been named after where they were discovered, stigmatizing residents who live there, including Bundibugyo, in Uganda.