A new survey has revealed that 51% of Americans believe all children born in the U.S. should automatically receive citizenship, while 39% think it should be granted only if the child's parents are already the country's citizens.
YouGov's survey came after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to end automatic citizenship for children born to parents who were in the U.S. illegally or on temporary visas.
Partisan divide on birthright citizenship
The survey found that 76% of Democrats believe all children born in the U.S. should automatically become citizens, a view shared by 54% of Independents and 26% of Republicans.
Meanwhile, 16% of Democrats and 68% of Republicans think citizenship should only be granted if the child's parents were already U.S. citizens.
By 51% to 39%, the statement Americans are more likely to say reflects their view is, “All children born in the U.S. should automatically become citizens” rather than, “Children in the U.S. should automatically become citizens only if their parents are citizens.”
— YouGov America (@YouGovAmerica) February 28, 2025
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Majority support citizenship for children of citizens and legal immigrants
Most Americans agree that children born in the U.S. should automatically get citizenship if their parents were citizens (95%) or legal immigrants living in the country (81%). Out of nine immigration situations included in the survey, these were the only two where most Americans supported automatic citizenship.
The survey also found that 43% of Americans believe children born in the U.S. should get citizenship if their parents were undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children. This included 66% of Democrats and 16% of Republicans.
Similarly, 40% of Americans support automatic citizenship for children of refugees or asylum seekers, including 65% of Democrats and 17% of Republicans.
The survey found that Americans were least likely to support automatic U.S. citizenship for children born to tourists visiting the country. Only 25% agree, including 11% of Republicans and 41% of Democrats.
Overall, 15% of Americans believe children born under all nine circumstances in the poll should receive automatic citizenship.
Americans split on constitutional birthright citizenship
When asked about the U.S. Constitution, 57% of Americans correctly said it granted citizenship to all persons born in the country, regardless of their parents' legal status.
However, 20% believe this is not true. Republicans were divided, with 38% saying the Constitution includes birthright citizenship, while 36% disagreed with the same. Among Democrats, 75% believe the Constitution guarantees birthright citizenship, while 8% do not.
Trump first mentioned plans to end birthright citizenship in October 2018. At the time, a YouGov poll found that 23% of Americans thought his administration would follow through, while 54% believed it would not.
