The nation's highest court agrees to consider case challenging citizenship by birth.
The US Supreme Court has decided to review a significant case that puts to the test a century-old constitutional right: birthright citizenship for those born on American soil.
On his first day in office this winter, the administration signed an order aiming to halt the policy, but the move was subsequently blocked by the judiciary after constitutional questions were filed.
The Supreme Court's eventual judgment will either support citizenship rights for the offspring of migrants who are in the US undocumented or on temporary visas, or it will nullify the provision completely.
Next, the judges will set a time to hear arguments between the administration and plaintiffs, which comprise parents who are immigrants and their newborns.
The 14th Amendment
For over a century and a half, the Fourteenth Amendment has codified the doctrine that anyone born in the country is a US citizen, with specific conditions for children born to diplomats and members 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 challenged executive order sought to withhold citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on temporary visas.
The United States belongs to a group of about 30 countries – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that provide instant citizenship to any person born on their soil.
