America's top judicial body has decided to consider case disputing automatic citizenship for those born in the US.
The US Supreme Court has decided to review a significant case that questions a historic guarantee: automatic citizenship for individuals born within US borders.
On his first day in office this winter, the President enacted a directive aiming to terminate this practice, but the move was halted by federal courts after constitutional questions were initiated.
The Supreme Court's final decision will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the children of migrants who are in the US illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will overturn the provision altogether.
Next, the justices will set a time to hear oral arguments between the federal government and claimants, which comprise immigrant parents and their young children.
The Legal Foundation
For over a century and a half, the Constitutional amendment has enshrined the rule that every person born in the United States is a American citizen, with exceptions for children born to foreign diplomats and members 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 withhold citizenship to the children of people who are either in the US illegally or are in the country on non-permanent visas.
The United States is among about 30 countries – primarily in the Western Hemisphere – that provide immediate citizenship to anyone born on their soil.
