US Supreme Court agrees to consider case disputing automatic citizenship for those born in the US.
The nation's highest court has will hear a landmark case that questions a historic constitutional right: birthright citizenship for people born in the United States.
On his first day in office this winter, the administration enacted a directive aiming to end the policy, but the move was halted by federal courts after constitutional questions were initiated.
The Supreme Court's ultimate ruling will either support citizenship rights for the infants of migrants who are in the US illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will overturn those rights completely.
Next, the justices will schedule a date to hear arguments between the federal government and the suing parties, which involve parents who are immigrants and their young children.
The Legal Foundation
For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the doctrine that anyone born in the United States is a citizen, with specific conditions for children born to foreign diplomats and members of foreign military forces.
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
The contested directive sought to refuse citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US without legal status or are in the country on temporary visas.
The United States belongs to a group of about 30 countries – largely in the Americas – that provide immediate citizenship to anyone born within their borders.
