America's top judicial body has decided to consider lawsuit disputing citizenship by birth.
The US Supreme Court has agreed to take on a pivotal case that puts to the test a historic principle: guaranteed citizenship for individuals born in the United States.
On day one in office this January, the President enacted a directive aiming to halt this practice, but the move was halted by lower courts after constitutional questions were initiated.
The Supreme Court's eventual judgment will ultimately support citizenship rights for the infants of foreign nationals who are in the US undocumented or on short-term permits, or it will overturn the provision completely.
Next, the judges will calendar a session to hear the case between the government and the suing parties, which include immigrant parents and their newborns.
A Constitutional Cornerstone
For nearly 160 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has enshrined the doctrine that anyone born in the United States is a American citizen, with exceptions for children born to foreign diplomats and members of invading forces.
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
The contested presidential order sought to deny citizenship to the children of people who are either in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on short-term status.
The United States is one of about three dozen nations – mostly in the Western Hemisphere – that award instant citizenship to anyone born within their borders.
