US Supreme Court agrees to hear case disputing birthright citizenship.

The top court has decided to review a significant case that puts to the test a longstanding constitutional right: guaranteed citizenship for people born in the United States.

On the inaugural day in office this January, the President issued an executive order aiming to terminate the policy, but the move was struck down by the judiciary after legal challenges were initiated.

The Supreme Court's eventual decision will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the infants of foreign nationals who are in the US undocumented or on temporary visas, or it will end those rights entirely.

Next, the judges will calendar a session to hear oral arguments between the government and the suing parties, which involve immigrant parents and their young children.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has established the rule that every person born in the country 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 deny citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States is among about three dozen nations – primarily in the Americas – that grant immediate citizenship to anyone born on their soil.