US Supreme Court will hear legal challenge disputing automatic citizenship for those born in the US.
The top court has decided to review a significant case that questions a longstanding principle: guaranteed citizenship for people born within US borders.
On the inaugural day in office this January, the administration issued an executive order aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the order was struck down by federal courts after lawsuits were brought forward.
The Supreme Court's final decision will either uphold citizenship rights for the offspring of immigrants who are in the US illegally or on temporary visas, or it will end the provision entirely.
Next, the court will schedule a date to hear the case between the government and the suing parties, which comprise foreign-born parents and their newborns.
A Constitutional Cornerstone
For over a century and a half, the 14th Amendment has established the rule that anyone born in the country is a citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to embassy personnel and personnel of occupying armies.
"Anyone 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 withhold citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on non-permanent visas.
The United States is among about three dozen nations – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that award instant citizenship to any person born on their soil.
