US Supreme Court agrees to hear legal challenge challenging citizenship by birth.
The nation's highest court has will hear a pivotal case that questions a century-old constitutional right: guaranteed citizenship for people born on American soil.
On his first day in office this winter, the administration issued an executive order aiming to end birthright citizenship, but the move was subsequently blocked by the judiciary after legal challenges were brought forward.
The Supreme Court's ultimate judgment will either uphold citizenship rights for the infants of immigrants who are in the US illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will nullify those rights altogether.
Next, the court will schedule a date to hear the case between the government and claimants, which comprise foreign-born parents and their young children.
The 14th Amendment
For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the principle that anyone born in the nation is a citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to foreign diplomats and members 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 is one of about 30 countries – primarily in the North and South America – that provide automatic citizenship to anyone born within their borders.
