US Supreme Court will consider lawsuit challenging automatic citizenship for those born in the US.

The nation's highest court has agreed to take on a significant case that puts to the test a century-old principle: birthright citizenship for people born on American soil.

On day one in office this January, the President issued an executive order aiming to end this practice, but the order was struck down by lower courts after lawsuits were filed.

The Supreme Court's final ruling will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the infants of immigrants who are in the US illegally or on short-term permits, or it will overturn those rights altogether.

Next, the justices will calendar a session to hear the case between the federal government and claimants, which involve foreign-born parents and their newborns.

The Legal Foundation

For over a century and a half, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the doctrine that all individuals born in the United States is a US citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to embassy personnel and personnel of foreign military forces.

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

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

The United States is one of about three dozen nations – mostly in the Americas – that grant immediate citizenship to anyone born in their territory.