US Supreme Court will review lawsuit challenging automatic citizenship for those born in the US.
The nation's highest court has agreed to take on a landmark case that puts to the test a longstanding principle: birthright citizenship for individuals born on American soil.
On the inaugural day in office this winter, the administration issued an executive order aiming to halt this practice, but the action was halted by the judiciary after lawsuits were brought forward.
The Supreme Court's final ruling will either support citizenship rights for the infants of foreign nationals who are in the US illegally or on short-term permits, or it will nullify them entirely.
Next, the judges will set a time to hear the case between the federal government and the suing parties, which involve foreign-born parents and their newborns.
The Legal Foundation
For nearly 160 years, the Constitutional amendment has established the rule that anyone born in the United States is a American citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to embassy personnel and members of invading forces.
"Anyone 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 whether in the US without legal status or are in the country on short-term status.
The United States belongs to a group of about a minority of states – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that award instant citizenship to all those born on their soil.
