The nation's highest court will consider case disputing birthright citizenship.
The top court has will hear a pivotal case that questions a historic constitutional right: birthright citizenship for individuals born on American soil.
On the inaugural day in office this winter, President Donald Trump signed an order aiming to end birthright citizenship, but the order was halted by lower courts after constitutional questions were brought forward.
The Supreme Court's eventual judgment will either affirm citizenship rights for the children of immigrants who are in the US without authorization or on short-term permits, or it will overturn those rights altogether.
Next, the court will schedule a date to hear arguments between the administration and plaintiffs, which include parents who are immigrants and their infants.
The Legal Foundation
For over a century and a half, the Fourteenth Amendment has codified the rule that every person born in the United States is a citizen, with exceptions for children born to diplomats and personnel of foreign military forces.
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
The disputed directive sought to withhold citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on non-permanent visas.
The United States is one of about a minority of states – mostly in the Americas – that award instant citizenship to any person born within their borders.
