America's top judicial body agrees to review case questioning automatic citizenship for those born in the US.
The nation's highest court has decided to review a landmark case that puts to the test a century-old constitutional right: birthright citizenship for those born in the United States.
On day one in office this winter, the administration issued an executive order aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the order was subsequently blocked by federal courts after constitutional questions were initiated.
The Supreme Court's final ruling will ultimately support citizenship rights for the infants of migrants who are in the US illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will overturn those rights entirely.
Next, the judges will schedule a date to hear the case between the federal government and plaintiffs, which involve parents who are immigrants and their infants.
A Constitutional Cornerstone
For over a century and a half, the Fourteenth Amendment has codified the rule that all individuals born in the nation is a US citizen, with exceptions for children born to embassy personnel 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 contested presidential order sought to refuse citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on short-term status.
The United States belongs to a group of about 30 countries – largely in the North and South America – that grant immediate citizenship to any person born in their territory.
