The nation's highest court has decided to consider lawsuit disputing birthright citizenship.

The US Supreme Court has will hear a landmark case that challenges a historic constitutional right: guaranteed citizenship for people born within US borders.

On his first day in office this winter, the President signed an order aiming to end birthright citizenship, but the action was halted by lower courts after constitutional questions were brought forward.

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

Next, the court will set a time to hear oral arguments between the administration and plaintiffs, which include foreign-born parents and their young children.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the doctrine that every person born in the United States is a citizen, with exceptions for children born to diplomats and personnel of occupying armies.

"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 withhold citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States is among about three dozen nations – primarily in the Western Hemisphere – that award automatic citizenship to all those born within their borders.