Pakistan, July 2 -- In a key ruling , the United States Supreme Court upheld the foundational idea of birthright citizenship, declaring that an executive order cannot deny US citizenship to children born in the country to non-permanent residents and undocumented immigrants.

The 6-3 ruling affirmed the long-accepted interpretation that the Constitution instinctively guarantees birthright citizenship to children born in the United States. "Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights-to freely participate in our political community. The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to 'every free-born person in this land,'" Chief Justice John Roberts wrote.

This verdict follows months of political debate around the ...