America's top judicial body agrees to hear case questioning birthright citizenship.

The US Supreme Court has decided to review a significant case that puts to the test a historic principle: birthright citizenship for people born within US borders.

On day one in office this January, the President issued an executive order aiming to halt the policy, but the action was subsequently blocked by federal courts after legal challenges were brought forward.

The Supreme Court's ultimate ruling will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the offspring of migrants who are in the US illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will nullify the provision completely.

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

The Legal Foundation

For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has codified the principle that every person born in the nation is a citizen, with specific conditions for children born to embassy personnel and members of foreign military forces.

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

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

The United States is one of about a minority of states – largely in the North and South America – that award automatic citizenship to anyone born on their soil.