right to citizenship for all children born in a country's territory, regardless of parentage". In the United States jus sanguinis is not a constitutional right or a birth right. Citizenship by jus sanguinis is a legal status conferred by statute. The term birthright citizenship usually means jus soli citizenship.

Birthright citizenship is rooted in colonial history when settlers born in the colonial United States were considered "natural born" subjects of the King of England. The idea of conferring citizenship based on being born within