The nation's highest court will consider case disputing birthright citizenship.
The top court has decided to review a significant case that questions a century-old constitutional right: birthright citizenship for people born in the United States.
On day one in office this January, the administration issued an executive order aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the order was subsequently blocked by lower courts after constitutional questions were brought forward.
The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will either support citizenship rights for the offspring of immigrants who are in the US without authorization or on short-term permits, or it will overturn the provision completely.
Next, the court will set a time to hear arguments between the administration and plaintiffs, which comprise immigrant parents and their young children.
The Legal Foundation
For more than 150 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has established the rule that every person born in the nation is a US citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to embassy personnel and members 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 contested directive sought to withhold citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on short-term status.
The United States is one of about a minority of states – primarily in the Americas – that award instant citizenship to all those born in their territory.
