US Supreme Court agrees to hear case challenging citizenship by birth.
The nation's highest court has agreed to take on a pivotal case that puts to the test a longstanding constitutional right: automatic citizenship for those born in the United States.
On his first day in office this winter, the administration issued an executive order aiming to terminate birthright citizenship, but the action was halted by federal courts after legal challenges were brought forward.
The Supreme Court's final decision will ultimately uphold citizenship rights for the offspring of migrants who are in the US without authorization or on temporary visas, or it will nullify the provision completely.
Next, the judges will calendar a session to hear oral arguments between the administration and plaintiffs, which include parents who are immigrants and their newborns.
The 14th Amendment
For over a century and a half, the Constitutional amendment has enshrined the rule that every person born in the nation is a American citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to diplomats 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 contested directive sought to refuse citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on short-term status.
The United States belongs to a group of about three dozen nations – primarily in the Western Hemisphere – that provide automatic citizenship to any person born in their territory.
