America's top judicial body agrees to hear legal challenge disputing citizenship by birth.
The nation's highest court has will hear a significant case that challenges a longstanding guarantee: birthright citizenship for individuals born in the United States.
On day one in office this January, the administration enacted a directive aiming to terminate birthright citizenship, but the action was halted by the judiciary after constitutional questions were filed.
The Supreme Court's ultimate decision will either uphold citizenship rights for the offspring of foreign nationals who are in the US without authorization or on temporary visas, or it will end the provision completely.
Next, the justices will schedule a date to hear the case between the federal government and the suing parties, which comprise immigrant parents and their infants.
A Constitutional Cornerstone
For over a century and a half, the 14th Amendment has codified the rule that anyone born in the country is a American citizen, with specific conditions for children born to embassy personnel and members 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 contested presidential order sought to refuse citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US illegally or are in the country on temporary visas.
The United States is one of about three dozen nations – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that grant immediate citizenship to all those born within their borders.
