The nation's highest court has decided to review case questioning automatic citizenship for those born in the US.

The US Supreme Court has agreed to take on a pivotal case that puts to the test a longstanding guarantee: guaranteed citizenship for those born within US borders.

On his first day in office this January, the President issued an executive order aiming to halt this practice, but the action was subsequently blocked by the judiciary after lawsuits were filed.

The Supreme Court's eventual judgment will ultimately support citizenship rights for the infants of immigrants who are in the US illegally or on short-term permits, or it will end those rights completely.

Next, the court will calendar a session to hear arguments between the federal government and the suing parties, which comprise foreign-born parents and their infants.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For nearly 160 years, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the doctrine that every person born in the nation is a US citizen, with exceptions for children born to foreign diplomats and members of foreign military forces.

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

The contested directive sought to withhold citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on short-term status.

The United States belongs to a group of about a minority of states – mostly in the Western Hemisphere – that provide automatic citizenship to anyone born on their soil.