The Supreme Court is expected to address the issue of birthright citizenship, which has been a topic of debate in the United States. The practice, which grants automatic citizenship to nearly everyone born on U.S. soil, is soon to face Supreme Court judgment.

Background

Birthright citizenship became law in 1868 when the 14th Amendment was ratified in the aftermath of the Civil War, in part to ensure that former slaves would be citizens. In the late 1800s, in the case of Wong Kim Ark, a man born in the U.S. to Chinese parents, it was expanded to include children of immigrants.

In later cases, the Supreme Court ruled that anyone born in the U.S. is a citizen, including if their parents are in the U.S. illegally or temporarily. There are a tiny number of exceptions, mostly for children born in the U.S. to foreign diplomats.

Recent Developments

Opposition to immigration has long been central to the Trump administration’s campaigns, and they have tapped into public frustration with issues like soaring illegal border crossings. To the Trump administration, birthright citizenship is a “magnet for illegal immigration,” with administration officials often pointing to illegal “birth tourism” networks that arrange for non-U.S. citizens to come to the country solely to give birth.

In legal arguments against the practice, government lawyers often focus on one phrase in the amendment: “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Breaking with most legal scholars, they insist that means the U.S. can deny citizenship to babies born to women who are in the country illegally.

Original reporting: NBC4 Los Angeles — read the source article.