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Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., speaks Nov. 1, 2024, before a Donald Trump campaign event Friday, in Milwaukee. (AP)
In the first days of President Donald Trump’s second term in office, one of the biggest news stories was something that’s existed in America since 1868 — birthright citizenship.
Birthright citizenship refers to the constitutional guarantee, laid out in the 14th Amendment, that all children born in the United States is automatically a U.S. citizen, even if their parents are in the country illegally.
As one of his first acts in office, Trump signed an executive order aiming to end automatic citizenship for children born in the U.S. if neither their mother or father is a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident. The order was immediately challenged in court, and a federal judge temporarily blocked it. The Trump administration has promised to appeal.
Many Republicans, including members of Congress from Wisconsin, have backed Trump’s position on reinterpreting birthright citizenship.
That includes U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who discussed the topic Jan. 26 on WISN-TV’s Sunday morning show "Upfront."
"We’re one of the very few nations that allowed birthright citizenship," Johnson said. "It’s kind of crazy that this is the policy of the United States."
"I’m not sure the people passing the 14th Amendment would anticipate wide open borders and this flood of illegal immigrants coming uncontrolled into this country, somewhat incentivized by birthright citizenship," he said.
Johnson has previously expressed support for ending birthright citizenship, including at a Senate hearing in December. Then, he said the U.S. is in the "minority" of countries that grant it.
With so much attention on birthright citizenship, PolitiFact Wisconsin thought Johnson’s claim was interesting. Is the U.S. an outlier in offering automatic citizenship to children born here?
Let’s take a look.
PolitiFact National checked a similar claim from Trump earlier in January, when he falsely said the U.S. is the only country with birthright citizenship.
About three dozen countries offer automatic citizenship to people born in the country, without restrictions. Countries with restrictions, for example, might require one parent to be born there or a citizen.
We presented the 35 number to Johnson’s office and asked for evidence and context to back up his statement. His spokeswoman, Kiersten Pels, noted that "35 of 195 (total countries) is only 18 percent of countries."
"Additionally, Canada and the U.S. are the only two "developed" nations (according to IMF) to allow it," she said.
That refers to the International Monetary Fund’s distinction between countries with "advanced economies," such as the U.S. and Canada, versus "emerging and developing economies."
Other populous countries that provide unrestricted birthright citizenship, but are under the IMF’s "emerging and developing" category, include Mexico and Brazil.
Interestingly, nearly all countries that offer it are in North America, South America or the Caribbean: A product of colonial times, when immigration was encouraged to populate settlements in the "New World."
"The American conception of citizenship is informed by the English common law doctrine of jus soli ("right of soil"), in which a person’s nationality at birth is determined by the territory where that person is born," according to the Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute.
Some countries have recently done away with unrestricted birthright citizenship and added conditions, including Ireland in 2005 and New Zealand in 2006.
Johnson said the U.S. is one of a "very few" nations with birthright citizenship.
Thirty-five nations have it, but "very few" is a pretty subjective number when compared to 195 total countries. PolitiFact Wisconsin took that into account when rating the claim.
Johnson’s initial claim was True when he said the U.S. is in the "minority" of countries that offer it — if 18 percent of countries have it, that’s certainly not a majority.
But the U.S. isn’t an anomaly either, at least on this side of the world. Canada and Mexico, two very large countries next to the U.S., both have birthright citizenship.
Our definition of Mostly True is "the statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information."
That fits here.
National Archives, 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights (1868).
USA Today, What is birthright citizenship? Can Trump get rid of it? What to know about executive order, Jan. 21, 2025.
White House, Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship, Jan. 20, 2025.
USA Today, 'Obviously we'll appeal it': Donald Trump on birthright citizenship restraining order, Jan. 23, 2025.
X, Rep. Tom Tiffany, Jan. 23, 2025.
WISN-TV, 'UPFRONT' recap: Sen. Johnson pushes for recess appointments to confirm Trump's picks, Jan. 26, 2025.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Trump pledges to end birthright citizenship, including in Wisconsin. Is that possible?, Dec. 10, 2024.
PolitiFact, Donald Trump’s False claim that the US is the ‘only’ country with birthright citizenship, Jan. 21, 2025.
World Population Review, Countries with Birthright Citizenship 2024.
Email exchange, Kiersten Pels, spokeswoman for Sen. Ron Johnson, Jan. 27, 2025.
International Monetary Fund, Country Composition of WEO Groups.
Harvard Law Today, Can birthright citizenship be changed?, Jan. 24, 2025.
Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, British and American Colonial Naturalization.
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