America's top judicial body agrees to hear lawsuit questioning citizenship by birth.
The US Supreme Court has agreed to take on a pivotal case that questions a century-old guarantee: guaranteed citizenship for people born within US borders.
On the inaugural day in office this January, President Donald Trump enacted a directive aiming to terminate birthright citizenship, but the action was halted by federal courts after legal challenges were filed.
The Supreme Court's ultimate ruling will either support citizenship rights for the infants of foreign nationals who are in the US undocumented or on temporary visas, or it will nullify the provision altogether.
Next, the judges will schedule a date to hear arguments between the government and the suing parties, which comprise foreign-born parents and their infants.
The Legal Foundation
For over a century and a half, the Constitutional amendment has codified the principle that anyone born in the country is a US citizen, with specific conditions for children born to diplomats and personnel of occupying armies.
"Every individual born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
The contested executive order sought to withhold citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US without legal status or are in the country on short-term status.
The United States belongs to a group of about three dozen nations – primarily in the Americas – that provide immediate citizenship to anyone born in their territory.
