America's top judicial body agrees to hear lawsuit challenging automatic citizenship for those born in the US.
The nation's highest court has agreed to take on a significant case that puts to the test a longstanding principle: guaranteed citizenship for individuals born within US borders.
On his first day in office this winter, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aiming to halt this practice, but the action was struck down by lower courts after constitutional questions were filed.
The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the offspring of immigrants who are in the US undocumented or on short-term permits, or it will nullify the provision entirely.
Next, the justices will calendar a session to hear the case between the federal government and claimants, which involve parents who are immigrants and their infants.
The 14th Amendment
For more than 150 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has codified the principle that all individuals born in the United States is a citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to embassy personnel and members 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 challenged executive order sought to deny citizenship to the children of people who are either in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on temporary visas.
The United States is one of about 30 countries – largely in the North and South America – that grant automatic citizenship to all those born on their soil.
