The nation's highest court has decided to consider legal challenge challenging citizenship by birth.

The US Supreme Court has agreed to take on a significant case that questions a longstanding guarantee: birthright citizenship for people born in the United States.

On day one in office this January, the President enacted a directive aiming to terminate this practice, but the move was halted by federal courts after constitutional questions were initiated.

The Supreme Court's final ruling will ultimately support citizenship rights for the offspring of migrants who are in the US undocumented or on short-term permits, or it will overturn those rights entirely.

Next, the court will set a time to hear the case between the federal government and plaintiffs, which include parents who are immigrants and their newborns.

The Legal Foundation

For nearly 160 years, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the principle that all individuals born in the country is a citizen, with exceptions for children born to embassy personnel and personnel of foreign military 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 withhold citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on non-permanent visas.

The United States is among about a minority of states – primarily in the Americas – that grant automatic citizenship to all those born on their soil.