US Supreme Court will hear legal challenge challenging citizenship by birth.
The top court has will hear a landmark case that puts to the test a historic constitutional right: guaranteed citizenship for individuals born within US borders.
On his first day in office this winter, the President signed an order aiming to end this practice, but the move was halted by the judiciary after legal challenges were initiated.
The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will either affirm citizenship rights for the children of migrants who are in the US without authorization or on non-immigrant visas, or it will end the provision completely.
Next, the justices will calendar a session to hear arguments between the administration and plaintiffs, which include parents who are immigrants and their young children.
The 14th Amendment
For over a century and a half, the Fourteenth Amendment has codified the doctrine that every person born in the country is a US citizen, with specific conditions for children born to embassy personnel and members of foreign military forces.
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
The challenged executive 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 temporary visas.
The United States is among about three dozen nations – largely in the North and South America – that provide instant citizenship to anyone born in their territory.
