The nation's highest court agrees to hear case challenging automatic citizenship for those born in the US.

The US Supreme Court has agreed to take on a significant case that puts to the test a longstanding guarantee: birthright citizenship for individuals born on American soil.

On the inaugural day in office this winter, the President enacted a directive aiming to end the policy, but the order was halted by federal courts after legal challenges were filed.

The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will either affirm citizenship rights for the infants of foreign nationals who are in the US illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will end the provision completely.

Next, the justices will calendar a session to hear oral arguments between the administration and plaintiffs, which include parents who are immigrants and their newborns.

The 14th Amendment

For over a century and a half, the Constitutional amendment has enshrined the principle that anyone born in the country is a US citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to diplomats and members of invading forces.

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

The challenged presidential 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 non-permanent visas.

The United States belongs to a group of about three dozen nations – primarily in the Americas – that grant automatic citizenship to any person born in their territory.