Right of Soil –“Jus Soli”
watercolor
Jean Kigel
PLACE OF BIRTH IS NOT A CHOICE
Birthright citizenship is the legal right for individuals born on U.S. soil to automatically acquire U.S. citizenship, (unless the parents are foreign diplomats or the child is born during a hostile occupation). This right is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. This Amendment overrode the Dred Scott decision, which had prevented Negroes from gaining citizenship. And it also granted citizenship to Irish, Chinese, Mexican, who had been born here.
A current group vulnerable to mass deportation includes DACA children, beneficiaries of Deferred Action for Childhood arrivals. (Application for DACA closed in 2025.)
January 20, 2025, Trump issued an Executive Order attempting to end Birthright Citizenship; however, the Supreme Court ruling on July 1, 2025, declared that Executive Order illegal and upheld citizenship for all people born in the U.S.
Jean Kigel Studio + Gallery 