The nation's highest court has decided to consider lawsuit disputing birthright citizenship.
The top court has will hear a pivotal case that puts to the test a historic guarantee: automatic citizenship for those born in the United States.
On his first day in office this winter, the administration issued an executive order aiming to terminate the policy, but the action was subsequently blocked by federal courts after constitutional questions were filed.
The Supreme Court's eventual judgment will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the infants of foreign nationals who are in the US illegally or on short-term permits, or it will end them altogether.
Next, the court will set a time to hear oral arguments between the federal government and plaintiffs, which include immigrant parents and their infants.
The 14th Amendment
For more than 150 years, the Constitutional amendment has established the doctrine that all individuals born in the United States is a American citizen, with exceptions for children born to foreign diplomats and members of occupying armies.
"All persons 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 deny citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on temporary visas.
The United States is among about 30 countries – mostly in the North and South America – that award immediate citizenship to all those born on their soil.
