High Court Rules on Citizenship Law

A federal law that treats fathers and mothers differently in deciding whether children born abroad out of wedlock are U.S. citizens seemed on shaky ground after a Supreme Court decision. That result came about even as the court rejected, 6 to 3, a sexual-equality challenge to the immigration law that automatically deems such children citizens if their mother is American but requires more if only their father is American. Two justices who voted to reject the challenge indicated that the disputed law can be successfully attacked. If so, that would result in a 5-4 ruling against the differing treatment.