🔗 Share this article The nation's highest court will hear lawsuit challenging birthright citizenship. The top court has agreed to take on a landmark case that puts to the test a longstanding principle: guaranteed citizenship for people born in the United States. On day one in office this January, the President issued an executive order aiming to terminate this practice, but the action was halted by the judiciary after legal challenges were filed. The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will either affirm citizenship rights for the infants of foreign nationals who are in the US undocumented or on short-term permits, or it will end the provision entirely. Next, the judges will calendar a session to hear arguments between the government and plaintiffs, which include parents who are immigrants and their young children. A Constitutional Cornerstone For nearly 160 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has enshrined the doctrine that anyone born in the country is a citizen, with exceptions for children born to diplomats and personnel of foreign military forces. "Anyone born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." The contested executive order sought to refuse citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US without legal status or are in the country on non-permanent visas. The United States belongs to a group of about 30 countries – mostly in the Americas – that award automatic citizenship to anyone born in their territory.
The top court has agreed to take on a landmark case that puts to the test a longstanding principle: guaranteed citizenship for people born in the United States. On day one in office this January, the President issued an executive order aiming to terminate this practice, but the action was halted by the judiciary after legal challenges were filed. The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will either affirm citizenship rights for the infants of foreign nationals who are in the US undocumented or on short-term permits, or it will end the provision entirely. Next, the judges will calendar a session to hear arguments between the government and plaintiffs, which include parents who are immigrants and their young children. A Constitutional Cornerstone For nearly 160 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has enshrined the doctrine that anyone born in the country is a citizen, with exceptions for children born to diplomats and personnel of foreign military forces. "Anyone born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." The contested executive order sought to refuse citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US without legal status or are in the country on non-permanent visas. The United States belongs to a group of about 30 countries – mostly in the Americas – that award automatic citizenship to anyone born in their territory.