America's top judicial body agrees to consider case challenging birthright citizenship.

The top court has agreed to take on a landmark case that challenges a century-old guarantee: birthright citizenship for people born within US borders.

On his first day in office this winter, the President enacted a directive aiming to terminate the policy, but the move was halted by lower courts after lawsuits were filed.

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

Next, the court will schedule a date to hear oral arguments between the federal government and the suing parties, which include foreign-born parents and their infants.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For over a century and a half, the Fourteenth Amendment has enshrined the rule that anyone born in the country is a American citizen, with specific conditions for children born to diplomats and personnel of foreign military forces.

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

The challenged executive order sought to withhold citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States is one of about 30 countries – primarily in the Western Hemisphere – that provide instant citizenship to all those born in their territory.