US Supreme Court will consider lawsuit disputing automatic citizenship for those born in the US.
The top court has will hear a landmark case that challenges a historic constitutional right: birthright citizenship for those born on American soil.
On the inaugural day in office this January, the President issued an executive order aiming to end birthright citizenship, but the move was halted by lower courts after constitutional questions were filed.
The Supreme Court's ultimate ruling will either support citizenship rights for the children of immigrants who are in the US undocumented or on non-immigrant visas, or it will nullify the provision entirely.
Next, the judges will set a time to hear the case between the government and plaintiffs, which include immigrant parents and their infants.
The 14th Amendment
For over a century and a half, the Fourteenth Amendment has established the rule that every person born in the nation is a American citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to foreign diplomats and members 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 contested directive sought to refuse citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on short-term status.
The United States is one of about a minority of states – primarily in the North and South America – that award automatic citizenship to any person born within their borders.
