US Supreme Court has decided to hear lawsuit disputing birthright citizenship.
The top court has will hear a significant case that challenges a historic guarantee: automatic citizenship for those born within US borders.
On day one in office this winter, the President signed an order aiming to end this practice, but the action was halted by federal courts after constitutional questions were filed.
The Supreme Court's ultimate judgment will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the infants of foreign nationals who are in the US without authorization or on short-term permits, or it will end them entirely.
Next, the court will calendar a session to hear the case between the administration and plaintiffs, which involve parents who are immigrants and their infants.
The 14th Amendment
For over a century and a half, the Fourteenth Amendment has enshrined the principle that anyone born in the country is a citizen, with specific conditions 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 contested presidential order sought to deny citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on short-term status.
The United States is one of about 30 countries – primarily in the Americas – that grant automatic citizenship to all those born on their soil.
