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But in April, the Pew Hispanic Center, a Washington-based, nonpartisan organization,  released a report  (pdf download) that estimated the number of children of illegal immigrants, who received citizenship by birth on U.S. soil, has risen by nearly 50 percent from 2.7 million in 2003 to 4 million in 2008. One-third of those children live in poverty, which is nearly double the poverty rate for children of US-born parents. Skip to next paragraph According to the  “Birthright Citizenship Act”  bill, which has 91 cosponsors, the proposed changes would affect the Fourteenth Amendment and only grant citizenship “if the person is born in the United States of parents, one of whom is:” a citizen or national of the United States; an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States whose residence is in the United States; or an alien performing active service in the armed forces (as defined in section 101 of title 10, United States Code).” But getting suc...

A bill in the House of Representatives would change the 14th amendment to the US Constitution that grants anyone who is born on US soil the right of American citizenship. Efforts to revoke birthright citizenship could make it the new flashpoint in the debate over immigration. By  Matt Rocheleau , Correspondent / June 2, 2010 Will US revoke the right of American citizenship to foreigners born here? That’s an unconditional right, according to the 14 th Amendment of the US Constitution. It’s not an exclusively American practice. Worldwide, about 30 nations (mostly in the Western Hemisphere) have similar birthright citizenship policy. Citizenship based on where a person is born, is called  jus soli which is Latin for “right of the soil." But  jus soli  s primarily a New World right. Today, there are no European nations that grant  jus soli . Most countries in Europe use a  jus sanguinis  policy, which determines citizenship based on having an ancest...