US Supreme Court has decided to consider legal challenge disputing automatic citizenship for those born in the US.
The top court has agreed to take on a landmark case that questions a longstanding constitutional right: automatic citizenship for people born in the United States.
On the inaugural day in office this winter, President Donald Trump signed an order aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the action was halted by the judiciary after constitutional questions were filed.
The Supreme Court's ultimate ruling will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the infants of immigrants who are in the US illegally or on temporary visas, or it will overturn the provision entirely.
Next, the judges will calendar a session to hear oral arguments between the government and plaintiffs, which include foreign-born parents and their young children.
A Constitutional Cornerstone
For over a century and a half, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the rule that anyone born in the United States is a American citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to foreign diplomats and personnel of invading forces.
"Every individual born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
The challenged directive sought to refuse citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on non-permanent visas.
The United States is one of about three dozen nations – mostly in the North and South America – that provide immediate citizenship to anyone born within their borders.
