America's top judicial body will review lawsuit disputing citizenship by birth.

The US Supreme Court has agreed to take on a pivotal case that puts to the test a historic constitutional right: birthright citizenship for those born in the United States.

On his first day in office this winter, President Donald Trump enacted a directive aiming to end the policy, but the order was struck down by federal courts after legal challenges were filed.

The Supreme Court's final judgment will either affirm citizenship rights for the children of immigrants who are in the US illegally or on short-term permits, or it will end the provision altogether.

Next, the judges will calendar a session to hear the case between the administration and plaintiffs, which comprise immigrant parents and their infants.

The Legal Foundation

For over a century and a half, the 14th Amendment has codified the doctrine that anyone born in the United States is a US citizen, with specific conditions for children born to foreign diplomats and members of occupying armies.

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

The contested directive sought to withhold citizenship to the children of people who are either in the US illegally or are in the country on short-term status.

The United States belongs to a group of about three dozen nations – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that provide automatic citizenship to all those born on their soil.