Immigration Article of the Day: Birthright Citizenship of Child Born to Enemy Alien Visitors Posted on August 14, 2025 by John Vlahoplus & Michael L. Rosin

Birthright Citizenship of Child Born to Enemy Alien Visitors by John Vlahoplus & Michael L. Rosin, Washington University Law Review (2025)

Abstract

This is the story of Mogridge v. United States, in which the United States asserted, and a multinational commission held, that a child born in Pennsylvania to enemy alien visitors was a U.S. citizen even though he also acquired the nationality of his parents at birth and left the United States with them only a few weeks afterward. This compelling 1872 precedent undermines arguments for the narrow scope of birthright citizenship set out in President Trump’s Executive Order 14160, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship.”

KJ