The nation's highest court agrees to review legal challenge questioning automatic citizenship for those born in the US.
The top court has will hear a significant case that questions a longstanding principle: guaranteed citizenship for individuals born on American soil.
On day one in office this winter, the administration signed an order aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the move was halted by the judiciary after lawsuits were initiated.
The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will either affirm citizenship rights for the children of foreign nationals who are in the US illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will end the provision entirely.
Next, the justices will schedule a date to hear oral arguments between the federal government and claimants, which include foreign-born parents and their infants.
A Constitutional Cornerstone
For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has established the rule that anyone born in the nation is a citizen, with exceptions for children born to diplomats and personnel 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 disputed presidential order sought to deny 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 – largely in the North and South America – that provide immediate citizenship to all those born in their territory.
