America's top judicial body will hear lawsuit disputing birthright citizenship.

The US Supreme Court has agreed to take on a landmark case that questions a longstanding constitutional right: birthright citizenship for people born within US borders.

On day one in office this January, the administration issued an executive order aiming to end the policy, but the order was subsequently blocked by federal courts after lawsuits were filed.

The Supreme Court's ultimate ruling will either uphold citizenship rights for the children of foreign nationals who are in the US without authorization or on non-immigrant visas, or it will end the provision altogether.

Next, the judges will set a time to hear oral arguments between the federal government and claimants, which include immigrant parents and their young children.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For over a century and a half, the Fourteenth Amendment has established the principle that every person born in the United States is a citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to diplomats and members of occupying armies.

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

The contested executive order sought to withhold citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US without legal status or are in the country on non-permanent visas.

The United States is among about a minority of states – primarily in the Western Hemisphere – that award automatic citizenship to anyone born in their territory.