The Supreme Court is meeting in private with a key issue on its agenda — President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship order declaring that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens.

 

The justices could say as soon as Monday whether they will hear Trump’s appeal of lower court rulings that have uniformly struck down the citizenship restrictions.

 

They have not taken effect anywhere in the United States.

 

Associated Press Supreme Court reporter Mark Sherman says the Supreme Court has sent mixed signals on some of the emergency matters it has dealt with regarding immigration this year.

 

“On the one hand, the justices prevented Trump from using the Alien Enemies Act to quickly deport suspected Venezuelan gang members without court hearings or any sort of due process. On the other hand, the court allowed the resumption of broad immigration stops in the Los Angeles area after a lower court had blocked them,” Sherman said.

 

If the court steps in now, the case would be argued in the spring, with a definitive ruling expected by early summer.