America's top judicial body agrees to review case questioning automatic citizenship for those born in the US.
The US Supreme Court has decided to review a pivotal case that questions a historic constitutional right: birthright citizenship for individuals born within US borders.
On his first day in office this winter, the administration enacted a directive aiming to end birthright citizenship, but the action was subsequently blocked by the judiciary after legal challenges were filed.
The Supreme Court's final judgment will either affirm citizenship rights for the children of migrants who are in the US illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will end them entirely.
Next, the court will calendar a session to hear arguments between the administration and the suing parties, which include foreign-born parents and their newborns.
A Constitutional Cornerstone
For over a century and a half, the Fourteenth Amendment has enshrined the principle that every person born in the nation is a citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to embassy personnel and members of invading forces.
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
The challenged directive sought to withhold citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on temporary visas.
The United States is among about a minority of states – primarily in the North and South America – that award immediate citizenship to any person born on their soil.
