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

The nation's highest court has decided to review a significant case that questions a historic guarantee: birthright citizenship for people born within US borders.

On his first day in office this January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aiming to terminate this practice, but the order was subsequently blocked by federal courts after lawsuits were filed.

The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will ultimately support citizenship rights for the children of migrants who are in the US without authorization or on short-term permits, or it will end the provision entirely.

Next, the court will schedule a date to hear oral arguments between the administration and plaintiffs, which include parents who are immigrants and their young children.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For over a century and a half, the Constitutional amendment has enshrined the principle that anyone born in the nation is a American citizen, with exceptions for children born to embassy personnel and members of foreign military forces.

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

The disputed executive order sought to deny citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on short-term status.

The United States belongs to a group of about a minority of states – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that grant instant citizenship to any person born in their territory.