United States v. Wong Kim Ark
Case Overview
Wong Kim Ark was born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrant parents who were subjects of the Emperor of China. When he returned to the United States after visiting China, the government tried to exclude him under the Chinese Exclusion Act, arguing he was not a citizen. The Supreme Court ruled 6-2 that the Fourteenth Amendment’s citizenship clause — “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens” — applies to children born on U.S. soil to alien parents, as long as the parents are not foreign diplomats or enemy invaders. The decision established birthright citizenship as a constitutional guarantee that Congress cannot override by statute. Bryan covers it every time the Trump administration’s birthright citizenship executive order is discussed — Wong Kim Ark is the 125-year-old precedent the order has to defeat.
Legal Issues
BrynoDC Coverage 13 videos
The Conclusion
**Wong Kim Ark held that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship to children born on U.S. soil to alien parents, absent diplomats or enemy invaders.** The 6-2 decision established this as a constitutional mandate that Congress cannot override, making it the foundational precedent for American birthright citizenship doctrine.
Flag an issue
This tracker is maintained by BrynoDC and is free because readers fund it. Support