America's top judicial body will review lawsuit disputing birthright citizenship.
The top court has agreed to take on a pivotal case that questions a historic constitutional right: automatic citizenship for individuals born within US borders.
On the inaugural day in office this winter, the President issued an executive order aiming to end this practice, but the action was subsequently blocked by federal courts after lawsuits were initiated.
The Supreme Court's ultimate ruling will either uphold citizenship rights for the infants of migrants who are in the US undocumented or on temporary visas, or it will overturn the provision altogether.
Next, the judges will schedule a date to hear the case between the federal government and the suing parties, which include immigrant parents and their infants.
The Legal Foundation
For nearly 160 years, the Constitutional amendment has enshrined the doctrine that all individuals born in the nation is a US citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to foreign diplomats and personnel 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 contested executive order 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 belongs to a group of about 30 countries – primarily in the Western Hemisphere – that grant immediate citizenship to all those born within their borders.
