America's top judicial body has decided to consider legal challenge questioning citizenship by birth.
The US Supreme Court has decided to review a landmark case that questions a longstanding guarantee: guaranteed citizenship for individuals born on American soil.
On his first day in office this January, the administration issued an executive order aiming to halt this practice, but the move was struck down by the judiciary after legal challenges were filed.
The Supreme Court's final ruling will ultimately uphold citizenship rights for the infants of migrants who are in the US undocumented or on temporary visas, or it will end those rights altogether.
Next, the justices will schedule a date to hear arguments between the federal government and plaintiffs, which involve immigrant parents and their infants.
The 14th Amendment
For nearly 160 years, the 14th Amendment has established the doctrine that all individuals born in the United States is a American citizen, with certain exclusions 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 disputed presidential order sought to deny citizenship to the offspring 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 among about three dozen nations – largely in the North and South America – that provide automatic citizenship to anyone born in their territory.
