America's top judicial body agrees to hear lawsuit questioning birthright citizenship.

The US Supreme Court has will hear a pivotal case that questions a century-old constitutional right: guaranteed citizenship for those born within US borders.

On his first day in office this January, the administration enacted a directive aiming to halt this practice, but the action was halted by lower courts after legal challenges were filed.

The Supreme Court's eventual judgment will either affirm citizenship rights for the infants of migrants who are in the US without authorization or on short-term permits, or it will nullify the provision altogether.

Next, the court will calendar a session to hear oral arguments between the federal government and plaintiffs, which involve foreign-born parents and their young children.

The Legal Foundation

For more than 150 years, the Constitutional amendment has codified the doctrine that anyone born in the country is a citizen, with exceptions for children born to diplomats and members of occupying armies.

"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."

The challenged executive order sought to withhold citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US without legal status or are in the country on non-permanent visas.

The United States is one of about a minority of states – mostly in the Western Hemisphere – that grant immediate citizenship to all those born in their territory.