🔗 Share this article America's top judicial body will hear lawsuit disputing citizenship by birth. The US Supreme Court has agreed to take on a landmark case that questions a century-old principle: automatic citizenship for people born on American soil. On his first day in office this winter, the administration enacted a directive aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the action was subsequently blocked by the judiciary after lawsuits were initiated. The Supreme Court's final judgment will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the offspring of foreign nationals who are in the US without authorization or on temporary visas, or it will end the provision entirely. Next, the judges will set a time to hear arguments between the administration and plaintiffs, which include parents who are immigrants and their young children. The 14th Amendment For more than 150 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has codified the rule that every person born in the United States is a US citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to foreign diplomats and personnel of occupying armies. "Anyone born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." The disputed directive sought to deny citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on short-term status. The United States belongs to a group of about three dozen nations – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that award automatic citizenship to all those born on their soil.
The US Supreme Court has agreed to take on a landmark case that questions a century-old principle: automatic citizenship for people born on American soil. On his first day in office this winter, the administration enacted a directive aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the action was subsequently blocked by the judiciary after lawsuits were initiated. The Supreme Court's final judgment will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the offspring of foreign nationals who are in the US without authorization or on temporary visas, or it will end the provision entirely. Next, the judges will set a time to hear arguments between the administration and plaintiffs, which include parents who are immigrants and their young children. The 14th Amendment For more than 150 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has codified the rule that every person born in the United States is a US citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to foreign diplomats and personnel of occupying armies. "Anyone born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." The disputed directive sought to deny citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on short-term status. The United States belongs to a group of about three dozen nations – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that award automatic citizenship to all those born on their soil.