More than 30 countries grant unrestricted birthright citizenship based on the ‘jus soli’ principle – and nearly all of them are in the Western Hemisphere. The reason is more complicated than ...

In North America, the ‘right of soil’ was introduced by the British via their colonies, according to “The Evolution of Citizenship” study by Graziella Bertocchi and Chiara Strozzi.

According to the Law Library of Congress, more than 30 countries across the world recognize birthright citizenship on an unrestricted basis – in which children born on their soil automatically ...