US Supreme Court agrees to hear lawsuit questioning citizenship by birth.
The nation's highest court has will hear a significant case that questions a century-old principle: guaranteed citizenship for individuals born in the United States.
On the inaugural day in office this January, the administration issued an executive order aiming to end this practice, but the move was halted by the judiciary after legal challenges were initiated.
The Supreme Court's final judgment will either uphold citizenship rights for the offspring of foreign nationals who are in the US illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will overturn the provision altogether.
Next, the justices will calendar a session to hear oral arguments between the federal government and the suing parties, which include foreign-born parents and their infants.
The Legal Foundation
For nearly 160 years, the Constitutional amendment has codified the principle that every person born in the country is a American citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to diplomats and personnel of foreign military forces.
"Every individual born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
The contested directive sought to refuse citizenship to the children 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 belongs to a group of about three dozen nations – mostly in the Americas – that grant instant citizenship to anyone born in their territory.
