America's top judicial body will review legal challenge challenging birthright citizenship.
The nation's highest court has will hear a pivotal case that puts to the test a century-old constitutional right: guaranteed citizenship for individuals born in the United States.
On his first day in office this January, the President signed an order aiming to halt the policy, but the order was subsequently blocked by lower courts after legal challenges were filed.
The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will either uphold citizenship rights for the children of foreign nationals who are in the US undocumented or on temporary visas, or it will nullify the provision entirely.
Next, the judges will calendar a session to hear oral arguments between the administration and the suing parties, which involve foreign-born parents and their young children.
The Legal Foundation
For nearly 160 years, the 14th Amendment has established the rule that every person born in the nation is a American citizen, with specific conditions for children born to foreign diplomats and personnel of invading forces.
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
The contested presidential order sought to withhold citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US without legal status or are in the country on temporary visas.
The United States belongs to a group of about a minority of states – primarily in the Western Hemisphere – that provide immediate citizenship to all those born on their soil.
