The nation's highest court agrees to hear lawsuit disputing citizenship by birth.
The top court has will hear a pivotal case that puts to the test a century-old guarantee: automatic citizenship for individuals born on American soil.
On day one in office this January, the President issued an executive order aiming to halt this practice, but the action was struck down by federal courts after lawsuits were initiated.
The Supreme Court's ultimate ruling will either uphold citizenship rights for the infants of migrants who are in the US without authorization or on non-immigrant visas, or it will end those rights altogether.
Next, the court will set a time to hear oral arguments between the federal government and plaintiffs, which involve immigrant parents and their young children.
The 14th Amendment
For nearly 160 years, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the doctrine that all individuals born in the country is a citizen, with exceptions for children born to embassy personnel and personnel 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 disputed directive sought to deny citizenship to the children of people who are either in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on short-term status.
The United States is one of about three dozen nations – largely in the North and South America – that provide immediate citizenship to anyone born in their territory.
