US Supreme Court agrees to review lawsuit challenging citizenship by birth.
The top court has decided to review a pivotal case that puts to the test a longstanding constitutional right: birthright citizenship for people born within US borders.
On the inaugural day in office this winter, the President enacted a directive aiming to end this practice, but the move was subsequently blocked by the judiciary after lawsuits were brought forward.
The Supreme Court's final judgment will either support citizenship rights for the offspring of foreign nationals who are in the US undocumented or on non-immigrant visas, or it will overturn those rights completely.
Next, the court will schedule a date to hear the case between the government and plaintiffs, which comprise foreign-born parents and their infants.
A Constitutional Cornerstone
For more than 150 years, the Constitutional amendment has codified the doctrine that anyone born in the United States is a citizen, with specific conditions for children born to diplomats and personnel of invading forces.
"Anyone born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
The disputed executive order sought to refuse citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US without legal status or are in the country on short-term status.
The United States is among about three dozen nations – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that grant instant citizenship to all those born on their soil.
