US Supreme Court will review legal challenge challenging citizenship by birth.
The nation's highest court has agreed to take on a pivotal case that challenges a longstanding guarantee: birthright citizenship for individuals born in the United States.
On the inaugural day in office this January, the administration enacted a directive aiming to terminate this practice, but the move was halted 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 illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will nullify the provision altogether.
Next, the justices will calendar a session to hear oral arguments between the government and the suing parties, which include foreign-born parents and their infants.
The Legal Foundation
For nearly 160 years, the Constitutional amendment has established the doctrine that all individuals born in the nation is a American citizen, with exceptions for children born to embassy personnel 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 challenged directive sought to refuse citizenship to the offspring 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 one of about three dozen nations – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that provide instant citizenship to any person born within their borders.
