US Supreme Court has decided to hear lawsuit challenging birthright citizenship.
The nation's highest court has decided to review a significant case that puts to the test a century-old constitutional right: birthright citizenship for individuals born on American soil.
On his first day in office this winter, President Donald Trump signed an order aiming to end this practice, but the order was struck down by the judiciary after legal challenges were brought forward.
The Supreme Court's final ruling will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the offspring of migrants who are in the US illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will nullify those rights completely.
Next, the court will set a time to hear oral arguments between the government and the suing parties, which involve immigrant parents and their young children.
The Legal Foundation
For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the rule that anyone born in the United States is a American citizen, with exceptions for children born to diplomats and personnel of occupying armies.
"Every individual 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 in violation of immigration law or are in the country on short-term status.
The United States is one of about three dozen nations – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that grant immediate citizenship to anyone born in their territory.
