America's top judicial body has decided to hear case challenging citizenship by birth.

The top court has agreed to take on a pivotal case that questions a historic constitutional right: birthright citizenship for individuals born in the United States.

On day one in office this January, the President signed an order aiming to end birthright citizenship, but the action was halted by lower courts after constitutional questions were initiated.

The Supreme Court's ultimate decision will either uphold citizenship rights for the offspring of migrants who are in the US illegally or on short-term permits, or it will nullify those rights altogether.

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

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For over a century and a half, the 14th Amendment has established the doctrine that all individuals born in the nation is a citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to diplomats 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 disputed executive order sought to withhold citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States belongs to a group of about three dozen nations – primarily in the Western Hemisphere – that grant immediate citizenship to all those born in their territory.