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

The nation's highest court has decided to review a landmark case that questions a longstanding constitutional right: guaranteed citizenship for those born within US borders.

On day one in office this January, the President enacted a directive aiming to terminate birthright citizenship, but the action was halted by the judiciary after lawsuits were initiated.

The Supreme Court's eventual decision will either support citizenship rights for the children of migrants who are in the US undocumented or on short-term permits, or it will overturn those rights entirely.

Next, the justices will set a time to hear the case between the government and plaintiffs, which comprise parents who are immigrants and their young children.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For more than 150 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has codified the rule that all individuals born in the nation is a American citizen, with specific conditions for children born to diplomats and personnel of occupying armies.

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

The disputed presidential order sought to deny citizenship to the offspring 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 belongs to a group of about 30 countries – mostly in the North and South America – that award automatic citizenship to anyone born in their territory.