The nation's highest court agrees to hear case questioning citizenship by birth.
The nation's highest court has agreed to take on a significant case that challenges a century-old constitutional right: guaranteed citizenship for people born within US borders.
On day one in office this January, the administration signed an order aiming to end this practice, but the action was halted by lower courts after lawsuits were brought forward.
The Supreme Court's ultimate ruling will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the offspring of foreign nationals who are in the US without authorization or on short-term permits, or it will nullify the provision altogether.
Next, the judges will set a time to hear oral arguments between the administration and the suing parties, which include foreign-born parents and their newborns.
The 14th Amendment
For nearly 160 years, the Constitutional amendment has enshrined the doctrine that anyone born in the United States is a citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to foreign diplomats and members of invading forces.
"All persons 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 deny citizenship to the children of people who are either in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on temporary visas.
The United States belongs to a group of about a minority of states – mostly in the North and South America – that grant automatic citizenship to all those born in their territory.
