US Supreme Court will consider lawsuit questioning citizenship by birth.
The nation's highest court has will hear a landmark case that puts to the test a historic principle: guaranteed citizenship for individuals born within US borders.
On day one in office this winter, the President enacted a directive aiming to end the policy, but the action was struck down by the judiciary after constitutional questions were initiated.
The Supreme Court's eventual decision will ultimately support citizenship rights for the children of immigrants who are in the US undocumented or on non-immigrant visas, or it will end them altogether.
Next, the justices will calendar a session to hear oral arguments between the administration and the suing parties, which involve foreign-born parents and their infants.
A Constitutional Cornerstone
For more than 150 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has established the principle that every person born in the United States is a US citizen, with exceptions for children born to diplomats and members 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 contested executive order sought to deny citizenship to the children of people who are either in the US illegally or are in the country on temporary visas.
The United States is one of about 30 countries – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that award immediate citizenship to all those born in their territory.
