America's top judicial body will review legal challenge challenging citizenship by birth.

The nation's highest court has agreed to take on a pivotal case that questions a historic constitutional right: guaranteed citizenship for individuals born on American soil.

On the inaugural day in office this January, the President enacted a directive aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the move was subsequently blocked by the judiciary after constitutional questions were brought forward.

The Supreme Court's final decision will either support citizenship rights for the infants of foreign nationals who are in the US undocumented or on short-term permits, or it will end them completely.

Next, the judges will set a time to hear the case between the government and claimants, which include foreign-born parents and their infants.

The Legal Foundation

For over a century and a half, the Fourteenth Amendment has codified the rule that anyone born in the United States is a citizen, with exceptions for children born to foreign diplomats and members of occupying armies.

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

The challenged directive sought to refuse citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on short-term status.

The United States is one of about three dozen nations – mostly in the North and South America – that grant immediate citizenship to all those born in their territory.