America's top judicial body will review lawsuit disputing automatic citizenship for those born in the US.

The nation's highest court has agreed to take on a pivotal case that questions a longstanding constitutional right: automatic citizenship for those born in the United States.

On day one in office this winter, the administration issued an executive order aiming to halt this practice, but the action was struck down by the judiciary after legal challenges were filed.

The Supreme Court's eventual judgment will either uphold citizenship rights for the infants of immigrants who are in the US undocumented or on short-term permits, or it will end them entirely.

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

The 14th Amendment

For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has established the rule that every person born in the United States is a American citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to foreign diplomats and personnel of invading forces.

"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 offspring of people who are whether in the US without legal status or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States is among about a minority of states – mostly in the Western Hemisphere – that provide immediate citizenship to all those born in their territory.