US Supreme Court has decided to consider case questioning automatic citizenship for those born in the US.
The top court has agreed to take on a landmark case that questions a historic principle: automatic citizenship for people born on American soil.
On his first day in office this January, the President enacted a directive aiming to terminate the policy, but the order was halted by federal courts after constitutional questions were filed.
The Supreme Court's ultimate judgment will either uphold citizenship rights for the offspring of migrants who are in the US without authorization or on short-term permits, or it will nullify the provision altogether.
Next, the judges will schedule a date to hear arguments between the government and plaintiffs, which comprise foreign-born parents and their newborns.
A Constitutional Cornerstone
For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the doctrine that all individuals born in the United States is a US 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 contested executive order sought to refuse citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US without legal status or are in the country on non-permanent visas.
The United States belongs to a group of about three dozen nations – primarily in the North and South America – that award instant citizenship to all those born on their soil.
