The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments this week on whether children born on U.S. soil should continue to receive automatic citizenship. The court’s eventual ruling, likely months away, could upend a practice long treated as protected under the Constitution after a challenge from the Trump administration.
Public opinion on birthright citizenship is nuanced. Americans broadly support citizenship for children born to U.S.-born parents and to parents who entered the country legally. Support drops sharply, however, when the parents are described as having entered or remaining in the country illegally.
How common is birthright citizenship?
Only about three dozen countries, mostly in the Western Hemisphere, grant unconditional birthright citizenship—known in law as jus soli, Latin for “right of the soil.” The practice has historical roots in colonial policies in parts of South America and Africa. Many countries have since limited or abandoned unconditional jus soli: Ireland ended it after a 2005 referendum, and nations such as the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, India and Pakistan have moved away from automatic citizenship by birthplace. Many states rely instead on jus sanguinis, citizenship by descent.
What does U.S. law say?
In the United States, the 14th Amendment—adopted after the Civil War—established that people born or naturalized in the country and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens. That provision was intended in part to secure rights for formerly enslaved people. The recent Trump administration move to end birthright citizenship for children of parents who entered the country illegally, including an executive order announced early in a subsequent term, challenges that long-standing interpretation.
Where does the public stand?
Poll results vary with question wording and context. In general terms, many Americans express support for birthright citizenship, but that backing weakens when surveys specify parents’ immigration status.
Recent survey findings include:
– PRRI (December): Roughly two-thirds favor granting citizenship regardless of parents’ immigration status.
– CHIP50 (large-sample academic survey): 59% favor keeping birthright citizenship; that survey noted the constitutional basis.
– NPR/Ipsos: A slim majority (53%) opposed ending birthright citizenship, while 28% favored ending it.
– Pew Research Center: Over 90% support citizenship for children born to parents who immigrated legally; views split about evenly on children born to parents in the country illegally (roughly 50/50 depending on wording).
– YouGov: 51% overall in favor, 39% opposed; support fell to 31% for children of “undocumented” parents and to 25% for children of tourists when those descriptions were used.
Political, racial, generational and media divides
Patterns recur across polls. Democrats, younger Americans, Black and Latino respondents are more likely to back birthright citizenship; Republicans—especially white Republicans—are more likely to oppose it. Pew found about three-quarters of Democrats supported citizenship for children of parents who immigrated illegally, compared with roughly one-quarter of Republicans. Among Republicans there is variation by ethnicity: a much smaller share of white Republicans support it than Republican Hispanics.
By race, Pew reported about 75% of Latinos and 61% of Black Americans support birthright citizenship for children of parents who immigrated illegally, versus 48% of Asian Americans and 42% of white Americans. CHIP50 found about 80% of Democrats supported birthright citizenship regardless of parents’ status, compared with 39% of Republicans; that survey also showed relatively higher support among Asian Americans.
Age matters: Pew found people under 50 supported birthright citizenship for children of parents who immigrated illegally by 58% to 41%, while those 50 and older were more likely to oppose it. Generation also matters: two-thirds of second-generation Americans favored the policy, while a majority of third-generation or higher opposed it in Pew’s findings.
Where people get news also correlates with views. PRRI reported that more than 80% of those who trust newspapers or mainstream TV news support birthright citizenship regardless of parents’ status; far fewer—around 41%—of those who primarily trust Fox News, and only 29% of those who prefer outlets further to the right, expressed the same support.
What’s at stake
A Supreme Court decision that narrows or eliminates birthright citizenship would change a legal and social practice rooted in the 14th Amendment and could have wide-ranging effects on immigration policy and the status of U.S.-born children. The public remains divided, with opinions shaped strongly by political affiliation, race, age and media trust—a reflection of how contested the issue has become.