US Supreme Court agrees to hear lawsuit disputing automatic citizenship for those born in the US.

The US Supreme Court has decided to review a pivotal case that challenges a longstanding constitutional right: birthright citizenship for people born within US borders.

On his first day in office this winter, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aiming to halt this practice, but the move was struck down by federal courts after constitutional questions were initiated.

The Supreme Court's eventual decision will either support citizenship rights for the children of foreign nationals who are in the US illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will end the provision completely.

Next, the justices will calendar a session to hear the case between the government and the suing parties, which include parents who are immigrants and their newborns.

The Legal Foundation

For over a century and a half, the Constitutional amendment has established the doctrine that all individuals born in the nation is a citizen, with specific conditions for children born to diplomats and members of foreign military forces.

"Every individual born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."

The disputed directive sought to refuse citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States belongs to a group of about three dozen nations – primarily in the Western Hemisphere – that award immediate citizenship to anyone born within their borders.