The nation's highest court agrees to hear case questioning automatic citizenship for those born in the US.

The US Supreme Court has will hear a pivotal case that challenges a historic principle: birthright citizenship for those born within US borders.

On his first day in office this winter, the administration enacted a directive aiming to halt the policy, but the move was struck down by federal courts after legal challenges were filed.

The Supreme Court's eventual judgment will either uphold citizenship rights for the offspring of immigrants who are in the US illegally or on temporary visas, or it will end the provision entirely.

Next, the justices will calendar a session to hear oral arguments between the government and plaintiffs, which include foreign-born parents and their newborns.

The Legal Foundation

For more than 150 years, the Constitutional amendment has established the rule that anyone born in the United States is a American citizen, with exceptions for children born to diplomats and personnel of invading forces.

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

The contested presidential order sought to refuse citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US without legal status or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States is among about 30 countries – primarily in the Western Hemisphere – that award instant citizenship to anyone born on their soil.