US Supreme Court will hear legal challenge disputing birthright citizenship.

The nation's highest court has decided to review a significant case that puts to the test a historic constitutional right: automatic citizenship for those born on American soil.

On his first day in office this winter, the President enacted a directive aiming to terminate this practice, but the move was halted by the judiciary after legal challenges were brought forward.

The Supreme Court's final judgment will either affirm citizenship rights for the infants of immigrants who are in the US illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will nullify the provision altogether.

Next, the justices will set a time to hear oral arguments between the federal government and the suing parties, which comprise parents who are immigrants and their infants.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For over a century and a half, the Constitutional amendment has enshrined the principle that every person born in the nation is a American citizen, with exceptions for children born to embassy personnel and members of invading forces.

"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 deny citizenship to the children of people who are either in the US without legal status or are in the country on short-term status.

The United States is among about three dozen nations – mostly in the North and South America – that grant automatic citizenship to anyone born within their borders.