The nation's highest court agrees to hear case disputing automatic citizenship for those born in the US.
The US Supreme Court has will hear a pivotal case that questions a century-old guarantee: automatic citizenship for those born in the United States.
On the inaugural day in office this winter, the administration signed an order aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the action was halted by lower courts after lawsuits were filed.
The Supreme Court's ultimate judgment will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the infants of foreign nationals who are in the US illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will overturn those rights entirely.
Next, the justices will set a time to hear arguments between the administration and claimants, which involve immigrant parents and their young children.
The 14th Amendment
For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has codified the doctrine that anyone born in the nation is a citizen, with exceptions for children born to foreign diplomats and personnel of occupying armies.
"Anyone 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 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 one of about three dozen nations – primarily in the Americas – that provide instant citizenship to any person born in their territory.
