The nation's highest court has decided to hear case questioning automatic citizenship for those born in the US.
The top court has agreed to take on a significant case that puts to the test a historic principle: automatic citizenship for people born within US borders.
On his first day in office this winter, the President signed an order aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the order was halted by lower courts after lawsuits were filed.
The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will either affirm citizenship rights for the infants of immigrants who are in the US without authorization or on temporary visas, or it will end them completely.
Next, the court will calendar a session to hear arguments between the federal government and the suing parties, which include immigrant parents and their infants.
A Constitutional Cornerstone
For more than 150 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has enshrined the principle that all individuals born in the United States is a American citizen, with exceptions for children born to foreign diplomats and personnel of foreign military forces.
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
The challenged directive sought to withhold citizenship to the children of people who are either in the US illegally or are in the country on short-term status.
The United States is one of about a minority of states – largely in the Americas – that grant instant citizenship to anyone born on their soil.
