Wong Kim Ark was born in San Francisco, California, in 1873 to Chinese immigrant parents. In 1894, Wong traveled to China to visit his parents who had repatriated to China. Wong was denied re-entry upon his return to the United States on the grounds that he was not a U.S. citizen under the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. When Wong took his case to court, he argued that because he was born in the United States, the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment made him a citizen. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Wong, effectively establishing birthright citizenship in the United States.