US Supreme Court agrees to review legal challenge disputing citizenship by birth.
The top court has agreed to take on a significant case that challenges a longstanding principle: birthright citizenship for people born on American soil.
On the inaugural day in office this January, the President signed an order aiming to end the policy, but the move was subsequently blocked by lower courts after legal challenges were brought forward.
The Supreme Court's ultimate judgment will either uphold citizenship rights for the offspring of migrants who are in the US illegally or on temporary visas, or it will overturn them completely.
Next, the justices will set a time to hear arguments between the administration and the suing parties, which include immigrant parents and their young children.
A Constitutional Cornerstone
For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has codified the principle that every person born in the nation is a American citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to diplomats and members of occupying armies.
"Anyone born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
The challenged executive 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 30 countries – mostly in the North and South America – that provide instant citizenship to anyone born within their borders.
