US Supreme Court agrees to consider legal challenge disputing citizenship by birth.

The top court has agreed to take on a significant case that questions a historic constitutional right: automatic citizenship for people born on American soil.

On the inaugural day in office this winter, the administration signed an order aiming to terminate this practice, but the order was struck down by the judiciary after legal challenges were brought forward.

The Supreme Court's eventual decision will either support citizenship rights for the infants of immigrants who are in the US undocumented or on non-immigrant visas, or it will end the provision completely.

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

The 14th Amendment

For nearly 160 years, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the principle that anyone born in the country is a US citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to embassy personnel 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 withhold citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on short-term status.

The United States is one of about a minority of states – mostly in the Western Hemisphere – that provide instant citizenship to all those born on their soil.