birthright citizenship

American  

[burth-rahyt sit-uh-zuhn-ship] / ˈbɜrθˌraɪt ˈsɪt ə zənˌʃɪp /

noun

1. the practice of automatically granting citizenship to a child born in a particular country, regardless of the citizenship status of the parent or parents.

   an end to birthright citizenship.

2. the state of having such citizenship.

   to grant birthright citizenship to the child of new immigrants.

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Etymology

Origin of birthright citizenship

First recorded in 1845–50

Example Sentences

The Supreme Court didn’t issue an opinion on birthright citizenship.

From The Wall Street Journal

Many of our members who have been plaintiffs in the birthright citizenship case that we brought wanted to advocate publicly in the media.

From Slate

For us, when we are bringing a lawsuit, which we did in the context of birthright citizenship, that’s now also a class-action lawsuit, we do so because our members reach out to us and tell us that they’re worried about something, or that they’re being impacted by a policy, or that they’re scared that they could be in the future.

From Slate

One exception to birthright citizenship covered by this line of rulings is the child of a foreign diplomat, whose parents represent the interests of another country.

From Salon

Last year’s birthright citizenship case was a technical—but vitally important—dispute around the powers of federal district court judges.

From Slate