The Supreme Court will decide if President Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship can stand, the court announced on Friday.
Why it matters: If the justices agree with the president, the court could overrule a right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and upheld by SCOTUS over a century ago.
What they're saying: "The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted to grant citizenship to newly freed slaves and their children—not to the children of temporary visitors or illegal aliens," the government argued in its petition for Writ of Certiorari before the court.
- The White House, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Agriculture, Department of State and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Context: The president's executive order leaned into a once-fringe belief that children born to undocumented immigrants have no right to U.S. citizenship as a way to deliver on his promises to cut down on illegal immigration.
- However, the 14th Amendment automatically offers citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil, regardless of the citizenship status of their parents.
Catch up quick: The petition seeks to overrule a lower court ruling that issued a nationwide injunction on the president's order earlier this year.
- That court found that the executive order "likely 'contradicts the text of the Fourteenth Amendment and the century-old untouched precedent that interprets it.'"
Zoom in: "No president can change the 14th Amendment's fundamental promise of citizenship," Cecillia Wang, the national legal director of the ACLU said in a news release.
- "For over 150 years, it has been the law and our national tradition that everyone born on U.S. soil is a citizen from birth. The federal courts have unanimously held that President Trump's executive order is contrary to the Constitution, a Supreme Court decision from 1898, and a law enacted by Congress."
- "We look forward to putting this issue to rest once and for all in the Supreme Court this term."
What we're watching: The court will hear oral arguments early next year, according to SCOTUSBlog.
Go deeper: Trump signs executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship
Axios' April Rubin contributed to this story.
Editor's note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated with more information.
