US Supreme Court has decided to consider lawsuit questioning automatic citizenship for those born in the US.
The US Supreme Court has decided to review a landmark case that puts to the test a historic principle: automatic citizenship for people born in the United States.
On the inaugural day in office this January, the President signed an order aiming to halt the policy, but the action was struck down by lower courts after constitutional questions were brought forward.
The Supreme Court's eventual decision will either support citizenship rights for the children of immigrants who are in the US undocumented or on temporary visas, or it will overturn the provision completely.
Next, the justices will calendar a session to hear arguments between the federal government and plaintiffs, which include foreign-born parents and their infants.
The 14th Amendment
For over a century and a half, the Constitutional amendment has codified the rule that all individuals born in the United States is a citizen, with exceptions for children born to diplomats and personnel of foreign military forces.
"Anyone 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 one of about three dozen nations – largely in the Americas – that grant automatic citizenship to all those born in their territory.
