The nation's highest court has decided to hear lawsuit questioning birthright citizenship.
The top court has decided to review a pivotal case that questions a longstanding principle: automatic citizenship for individuals born within US borders.
On the inaugural day in office this January, the President signed an order aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the order was subsequently blocked by federal courts after constitutional questions were brought forward.
The Supreme Court's ultimate ruling will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the offspring of migrants who are in the US undocumented or on short-term permits, or it will end those rights entirely.
Next, the judges will schedule a date to hear oral arguments between the federal government and claimants, which include foreign-born parents and their newborns.
A Constitutional Cornerstone
For more than 150 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has established the doctrine that anyone born in the country is a US citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to foreign diplomats and members of foreign military forces.
"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 deny citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US without legal status or are in the country on temporary visas.
The United States belongs to a group of about a minority of states – largely in the Americas – that grant instant citizenship to anyone born in their territory.
