America's top judicial body has decided to consider legal challenge disputing citizenship by birth.
The top court has decided to review a pivotal case that questions a century-old constitutional right: automatic citizenship for individuals born in the United States.
On day one in office this January, the President enacted a directive aiming to terminate the policy, but the order was subsequently blocked by lower courts after legal challenges were initiated.
The Supreme Court's final judgment will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the infants of migrants who are in the US illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will nullify the provision completely.
Next, the judges will set a time to hear oral arguments between the government and plaintiffs, which comprise foreign-born parents and their newborns.
A Constitutional Cornerstone
For nearly 160 years, the Constitutional amendment has enshrined the doctrine that every person born in the nation is a citizen, with certain exclusions 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 contested directive sought to refuse citizenship to the children of people who are either in the US illegally or are in the country on temporary visas.
The United States is one of about 30 countries – mostly in the North and South America – that award automatic citizenship to all those born on their soil.
