The nation's highest court has decided to review case questioning automatic citizenship for those born in the US.
The US Supreme Court has will hear a pivotal case that challenges a century-old constitutional right: birthright citizenship for individuals born within US borders.
On the inaugural day in office this winter, the administration issued an executive order aiming to end this practice, but the move was halted by the judiciary after lawsuits were initiated.
The Supreme Court's ultimate decision will ultimately uphold citizenship rights for the offspring of foreign nationals who are in the US without authorization or on temporary visas, or it will overturn those rights completely.
Next, the justices will calendar a session to hear the case between the federal government and the suing parties, which comprise parents who are immigrants and their infants.
The Legal Foundation
For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has established the doctrine that every person born in the United States is a US citizen, with exceptions for children born to embassy personnel and members of invading forces.
"Every individual born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
The disputed presidential order sought to deny citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US illegally or are in the country on short-term status.
The United States belongs to a group of about three dozen nations – largely in the Americas – that award automatic citizenship to anyone born on their soil.
