The nation's highest court agrees to consider legal challenge disputing birthright citizenship.
The nation's highest court has decided to review a landmark case that questions a longstanding constitutional right: guaranteed citizenship for people born in the United States.
On day one in office this January, the President issued an executive order aiming to terminate the policy, but the action was subsequently blocked by federal courts after legal challenges were filed.
The Supreme Court's ultimate decision will either affirm citizenship rights for the children of migrants who are in the US without authorization or on short-term permits, or it will nullify the provision completely.
Next, the judges will schedule a date to hear oral arguments between the administration and plaintiffs, which include immigrant parents and their infants.
The Legal Foundation
For over a century and a half, the 14th Amendment has established the rule that all individuals born in the nation is a US citizen, with exceptions for children born to embassy personnel and members of foreign military forces.
"Every individual born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
The challenged directive sought to refuse citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US without legal status or are in the country on non-permanent visas.
The United States belongs to a group of about three dozen nations – primarily in the Americas – that grant instant citizenship to all those born within their borders.
