Pakistan, June 29 -- A child born on U.S. soil used to be a citizen without question. That clarity (once a cornerstone of American identity) is now in doubt. The recent decision by the United States Supreme Court to sidestep a definitive ruling on birthright citizenship has unsettled one of the most established principles of modern law: that the place of birth, not the parents' passports, determines legal belonging.

While the Court did not revoke the constitutional protection under the Fourteenth Amendment, it declined to confirm that children born to undocumented immigrants are unquestionably covered by it. The result is a legal grey zone. Narrow in language but broad in consequence, the ruling has reignited fears that citizenship in th...