Birthright citizenship reaches the Supreme Court. What’s at stake?

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments this week in a case that is both unusual and potentially seismic in its consequences.

The 14th Amendment says that anyone born in the United States is automatically a citizen of this country – and has been settled law since the 19th century. President Donald Trump is seeking to put an asterisk on that amendment as part of his crackdown on immigration. But before then, the Trump administration is asking the justices to resolve an unusual procedural question in Trump v. CASA, Inc.

In three lawsuits challenging the Jan. 20 birthright citizenship executive order, lower courts have found it unconstitutional. All three issued nationwide injunctions stopping it from taking effect. In what they have described as a “modest” request, Trump administration lawyers are asking the Supreme Court to narrow the injunctions to the individuals and states involved in what is now one combined case.