America's top judicial body will hear lawsuit disputing citizenship by birth.
The nation's highest court has will hear a pivotal case that challenges a historic guarantee: birthright citizenship for individuals born within US borders.
On his first day in office this January, President Donald Trump enacted a directive aiming to halt this practice, but the order was struck down by the judiciary after legal challenges were brought forward.
The Supreme Court's ultimate decision will ultimately support citizenship rights for the children of foreign nationals who are in the US undocumented or on temporary visas, or it will overturn them completely.
Next, the justices will set a time to hear arguments between the federal government and the suing parties, which comprise immigrant parents and their infants.
The Legal Foundation
For more than 150 years, the Constitutional amendment has established the doctrine that every person born in the United States is a citizen, with exceptions for children born to foreign diplomats and personnel of occupying armies.
"Every individual born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
The contested directive 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 belongs to a group of about 30 countries – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that grant instant citizenship to anyone born within their borders.
