The nation's highest court has decided to hear case challenging birthright citizenship.
The top court has agreed to take on a significant case that puts to the test a longstanding constitutional right: birthright citizenship for those born on American soil.
On his first day in office this January, the administration signed an order aiming to halt the policy, but the order was halted by lower courts after legal challenges were initiated.
The Supreme Court's final judgment will either uphold citizenship rights for the children of migrants who are in the US illegally or on short-term permits, or it will overturn the provision completely.
Next, the judges will calendar a session to hear oral arguments between the government and claimants, which include parents who are immigrants and their newborns.
The Legal Foundation
For more than 150 years, the Constitutional amendment has established the rule that anyone born in the nation is a American citizen, with specific conditions for children born to embassy personnel and members of occupying armies.
"Anyone 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 deny citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US illegally or are in the country on non-permanent visas.
The United States is among about three dozen nations – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that grant automatic citizenship to all those born within their borders.
