The nation's highest court agrees to consider case disputing automatic citizenship for those born in the US.
The top court has decided to review a significant case that challenges a longstanding guarantee: guaranteed citizenship for those born on American soil.
On the inaugural day in office this winter, the administration enacted a directive aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the order was subsequently blocked by the judiciary after legal challenges were initiated.
The Supreme Court's final judgment will either support citizenship rights for the infants of foreign nationals who are in the US illegally or on temporary visas, or it will overturn them completely.
Next, the court will set a time to hear the case between the government and the suing parties, which involve parents who are immigrants and their infants.
A Constitutional Cornerstone
For nearly 160 years, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the rule that every person born in the country is a citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to diplomats and members of invading forces.
"Anyone born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
The disputed executive order sought to deny citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on temporary visas.
The United States belongs to a group of about a minority of states – mostly in the North and South America – that grant instant citizenship to any person born within their borders.
