US Supreme Court has decided to hear legal challenge questioning automatic citizenship for those born in the US.
The top court has will hear a pivotal case that puts to the test a historic constitutional right: guaranteed citizenship for those born within US borders.
On day one in office this January, the administration issued an executive order aiming to terminate the policy, but the action was halted by the judiciary after legal challenges were brought forward.
The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will ultimately support citizenship rights for the children of immigrants who are in the US undocumented or on temporary visas, or it will nullify the provision altogether.
Next, the justices will calendar a session to hear arguments between the government and claimants, which involve parents who are immigrants and their young children.
A Constitutional Cornerstone
For more than 150 years, the Constitutional amendment has established the principle that all individuals born in the nation is a citizen, with exceptions for children born to 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 challenged presidential order sought to deny citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on short-term status.
The United States is among about three dozen nations – mostly in the Americas – that grant instant citizenship to anyone born in their territory.
