US Supreme Court agrees to hear case challenging citizenship by birth.
The top court has agreed to take on a landmark case that questions a longstanding constitutional right: automatic citizenship for those born on American soil.
On day one in office this January, the President enacted a directive aiming to halt this practice, but the action was halted by the judiciary after constitutional questions were initiated.
The Supreme Court's ultimate ruling will either uphold citizenship rights for the infants of foreign nationals who are in the US illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will nullify those rights altogether.
Next, the court will set a time to hear oral arguments between the government and the suing parties, which comprise immigrant parents and their newborns.
The 14th Amendment
For more than 150 years, the Constitutional amendment has enshrined the rule that anyone born in the United States is a US citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to 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 disputed directive sought to refuse 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 one of about 30 countries – largely in the North and South America – that provide instant citizenship to anyone born in their territory.
