The nation's highest court will hear lawsuit challenging automatic citizenship for those born in the US.
The nation's highest court has will hear a pivotal case that challenges a longstanding principle: automatic citizenship for individuals born on American soil.
On day one in office this January, President Donald Trump signed an order aiming to halt the policy, but the order was halted by federal courts after lawsuits were initiated.
The Supreme Court's eventual decision will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the children of immigrants who are in the US without authorization or on non-immigrant visas, or it will end those rights entirely.
Next, the judges will calendar a session to hear arguments between the government and plaintiffs, which comprise parents who are immigrants and their newborns.
The 14th Amendment
For nearly 160 years, the Constitutional amendment has codified the doctrine that anyone born in the nation is a US citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to embassy personnel and members of occupying armies.
"All persons 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 illegally or are in the country on non-permanent visas.
The United States is among about three dozen nations – primarily in the Western Hemisphere – that award immediate citizenship to any person born in their territory.
