America's top judicial body agrees to hear legal challenge disputing automatic citizenship for those born in the US.

The top court has will hear a significant case that challenges a historic guarantee: guaranteed citizenship for individuals born on American soil.

On day one in office this winter, President Donald Trump enacted a directive aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the action was subsequently blocked by federal courts after legal challenges were brought forward.

The Supreme Court's ultimate decision will ultimately support citizenship rights for the offspring of migrants who are in the US without authorization or on short-term permits, or it will end them entirely.

Next, the justices will calendar a session to hear oral arguments between the federal government and plaintiffs, which comprise foreign-born parents and their newborns.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has established the doctrine that anyone born in the United States is a US citizen, with exceptions for children born to diplomats and members of occupying armies.

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

The disputed executive order sought to refuse citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on short-term status.

The United States is one of about a minority of states – primarily in the Americas – that provide immediate citizenship to all those born within their borders.