US Supreme Court agrees to review lawsuit challenging automatic citizenship for those born in the US.

The nation's highest court has agreed to take on a significant case that questions a century-old guarantee: guaranteed citizenship for people born in the United States.

On his first day in office this January, the President signed an order aiming to end birthright citizenship, but the order was struck down by federal courts after lawsuits were filed.

The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will ultimately uphold citizenship rights for the offspring of foreign nationals who are in the US without authorization or on temporary visas, or it will nullify the provision entirely.

Next, the court will set a time to hear oral arguments between the government and plaintiffs, which comprise parents who are immigrants and their young children.

The Legal Foundation

For more than 150 years, the Constitutional amendment has enshrined the doctrine that all individuals born in the United States is a citizen, with specific conditions for children born to foreign diplomats and personnel of invading forces.

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

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

The United States belongs to a group of about 30 countries – mostly in the Western Hemisphere – that award instant citizenship to any person born in their territory.