US Supreme Court has decided to review legal challenge questioning birthright citizenship.
The top court has will hear a significant case that challenges a historic constitutional right: automatic citizenship for individuals born on American soil.
On day one in office this winter, the administration enacted a directive aiming to halt the policy, but the move was subsequently blocked by lower courts after lawsuits were brought forward.
The Supreme Court's ultimate judgment will either uphold citizenship rights for the infants of immigrants who are in the US undocumented or on short-term permits, or it will overturn the provision completely.
Next, the court will set a time to hear arguments between the government and the suing parties, which comprise parents who are immigrants and their newborns.
The Legal Foundation
For over a century and a half, the 14th Amendment has established the doctrine that every person born in the United States is a US citizen, with specific conditions for children born to diplomats and personnel of foreign military forces.
"Anyone 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 withhold citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on non-permanent visas.
The United States is among about three dozen nations – mostly in the Western Hemisphere – that award instant citizenship to any person born in their territory.
