America's top judicial body agrees to review lawsuit challenging birthright citizenship.

The nation's highest court has agreed to take on a landmark case that puts to the test a historic principle: guaranteed citizenship for those born in the United States.

On the inaugural day in office this January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the action was subsequently blocked by federal courts after lawsuits were filed.

The Supreme Court's eventual judgment will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the children of migrants who are in the US undocumented or on temporary visas, or it will nullify the provision entirely.

Next, the court will calendar a session to hear arguments between the government and plaintiffs, which comprise parents who are immigrants and their infants.

The Legal Foundation

For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has established the doctrine that every person born in the United States is a US citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to diplomats and members of occupying armies.

"Anyone 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 in violation of immigration law or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States is among about three dozen nations – mostly in the Americas – that grant automatic citizenship to all those born on their soil.