The nation's highest court has decided to hear case challenging citizenship by birth.
The US Supreme Court has agreed to take on a landmark case that puts to the test a historic guarantee: guaranteed citizenship for those born within US borders.
On the inaugural day in office this winter, the administration issued an executive order aiming to halt this practice, but the move was halted by lower courts after lawsuits were filed.
The Supreme Court's ultimate ruling 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 overturn them entirely.
Next, the court will calendar a session to hear arguments between the government and plaintiffs, which include immigrant parents and their newborns.
A Constitutional Cornerstone
For over a century and a half, the Constitutional amendment has codified the principle that anyone born in the country is a US citizen, with exceptions for children born to foreign diplomats and personnel of foreign military forces.
"Anyone 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 refuse citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on short-term status.
The United States belongs to a group of about a minority of states – primarily in the Western Hemisphere – that award immediate citizenship to any person born within their borders.
