America's top judicial body agrees to consider lawsuit challenging citizenship by birth.
The nation's highest court has decided to review a pivotal case that puts to the test a century-old constitutional right: automatic citizenship for those born on American soil.
On the inaugural day in office this January, the administration issued an executive order aiming to terminate this practice, but the action was halted by lower courts after legal challenges were filed.
The Supreme Court's ultimate decision will either uphold citizenship rights for the infants of immigrants who are in the US illegally or on short-term permits, or it will nullify them entirely.
Next, the justices will calendar a session to hear oral arguments between the federal government and plaintiffs, which involve immigrant parents and their young children.
The 14th Amendment
For nearly 160 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has enshrined the doctrine that every person born in the nation is a American citizen, with exceptions for children born to embassy personnel and members 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 disputed presidential order sought to withhold citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US illegally or are in the country on non-permanent visas.
The United States is among about 30 countries – largely in the North and South America – that award instant citizenship to any person born within their borders.
