The nation's highest court agrees to review lawsuit disputing citizenship by birth.

The US Supreme Court has will hear a significant case that puts to the test a longstanding principle: guaranteed citizenship for individuals born in the United States.

On day one in office this January, the President enacted a directive aiming to terminate this practice, but the action was subsequently blocked by federal courts after legal challenges were brought forward.

The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will either affirm citizenship rights for the children of immigrants who are in the US illegally or on short-term permits, or it will overturn them altogether.

Next, the justices will set a time to hear oral arguments between the federal government and claimants, which comprise foreign-born parents and their infants.

The 14th Amendment

For over a century and a half, the 14th Amendment has established the doctrine that every person born in the country is a American citizen, with specific conditions for children born to diplomats and personnel 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 executive order sought to deny citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US illegally or are in the country on short-term status.

The United States is among about a minority of states – largely in the North and South America – that provide instant citizenship to any person born in their territory.