America's top judicial body agrees to consider legal challenge disputing citizenship by birth.
The top court has decided to review a significant case that puts to the test a century-old constitutional right: automatic citizenship for those born within US borders.
On day one in office this winter, the President enacted a directive aiming to end this practice, but the order was subsequently blocked by the judiciary after constitutional questions were brought forward.
The Supreme Court's eventual decision will either support citizenship rights for the infants of foreign nationals who are in the US without authorization or on non-immigrant visas, or it will end the provision entirely.
Next, the justices will calendar a session to hear the case between the administration and plaintiffs, which comprise parents who are immigrants and their newborns.
The Legal Foundation
For over a century and a half, the 14th Amendment has established the rule that every person born in the nation is a American citizen, with specific conditions for children born to embassy personnel 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 challenged directive sought to deny 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 three dozen nations – primarily in the North and South America – that grant immediate citizenship to all those born on their soil.
