WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has astonished legal scholars with his claim that he can end birthright citizenship with a swipe of his pen. Trump also went far off track in asserting that the U.S. is the only country that automatically grants citizenship to anyone born in the country. Peter Schuck is perhaps the most prominent advocate of the idea that birthright citizenship is not conveyed by the Constitution to children of parents who are living illegally in the U.S. The U.S. is among about 30 countries where birthright citizenship — the principle of jus soli or “right of the soil” — is applied, according to the World Atlas and other sources. Most other countries confer citizenship based on that of at least one parent — jus sanguinis, or “right of blood” — or have a modified form of birthright citizenship that may restrict automatic citizenship to children of parents who are on their territory legally.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer October 31, 2018 09:22 UTC