The U.S. Virgin Islands Citizen Statute and Birthright Citizenship |
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The U.S. Virgin Islands Citizen Statute and Birthright Citizenship
There’s a 1927 law that’s gotten the silent treatment from courts and parties in birthright citizenship litigation, but that has a place in the discussion.
Elliott Wainwright | April 26, 2026
While the meaning of “subject to the jurisdiction” in the Citizenship Clause is the main event in lawsuits seeking to invalidate President Trump’s January 2025 executive order on citizenship, the litigation also features an undercard bout concerning whether Congress changed the meaning of “subject to the jurisdiction” during the thirteen-year period from 1927 to 1940. If it didn’t, that’s significant.
This article does not seek to address the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction” in either the Citizenship Clause or acts of Congress. Instead, it........