America's top judicial body will review case disputing birthright citizenship.
The US Supreme Court has agreed to take on a pivotal case that questions a longstanding constitutional right: automatic citizenship for individuals born in the United States.
On his first day in office this winter, the administration signed an order aiming to end birthright citizenship, but the order was subsequently blocked by lower courts after legal challenges were initiated.
The Supreme Court's eventual judgment will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the infants of migrants who are in the US undocumented or on short-term permits, or it will nullify the provision entirely.
Next, the judges will set a time to hear oral arguments between the federal government and the suing parties, which include immigrant parents and their young children.
The 14th Amendment
For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the rule that all individuals born in the nation is a American citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to foreign diplomats and personnel of invading forces.
"Every individual born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
The challenged 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 temporary visas.
The United States is among about 30 countries β largely in the Western Hemisphere β that grant instant citizenship to all those born within their borders.
