America's top judicial body agrees to hear lawsuit disputing birthright citizenship.
The top court has decided to review a landmark case that puts to the test a historic principle: birthright citizenship for people born within US borders.
On day one in office this January, the President enacted a directive aiming to halt this practice, but the action was subsequently blocked by federal courts after lawsuits were brought forward.
The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will either support citizenship rights for the children of foreign nationals who are in the US undocumented or on non-immigrant visas, or it will nullify the provision completely.
Next, the court will set a time to hear the case between the federal government and the suing parties, which involve immigrant parents and their newborns.
The Legal Foundation
For more than 150 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has enshrined the doctrine that anyone born in the United States is a US citizen, with exceptions for children born to embassy personnel and personnel of foreign military forces.
"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 without legal status or are in the country on non-permanent visas.
The United States belongs to a group of about 30 countries – mostly in the Western Hemisphere – that provide immediate citizenship to all those born on their soil.
