US Supreme Court will hear case challenging automatic citizenship for those born in the US.
The nation's highest court has decided to review a landmark case that challenges a century-old constitutional right: automatic citizenship for people born in the United States.
On his first day in office this winter, the administration issued an executive order aiming to end this practice, but the order was struck down by lower courts after constitutional questions were initiated.
The Supreme Court's final judgment will ultimately support citizenship rights for the infants of immigrants who are in the US without authorization or on non-immigrant visas, or it will nullify those rights completely.
Next, the justices will set a time to hear oral arguments between the administration and claimants, which comprise foreign-born parents and their infants.
The 14th Amendment
For over a century and a half, the Fourteenth Amendment has established the doctrine that every person born in the nation is a American citizen, with exceptions for children born to foreign diplomats 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 withhold citizenship to the children of people who are either in the US without legal status or are in the country on non-permanent visas.
The United States is among about 30 countries – primarily in the Western Hemisphere – that provide instant citizenship to anyone born within their borders.
