America's top judicial body will review legal challenge disputing automatic citizenship for those born in the US.

The US Supreme Court has agreed to take on a pivotal case that challenges a century-old constitutional right: birthright citizenship for those born within US borders.

On his first day in office this January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the move was subsequently blocked by federal courts after constitutional questions were initiated.

The Supreme Court's final judgment will either uphold citizenship rights for the offspring of immigrants who are in the US without authorization or on temporary visas, or it will overturn the provision entirely.

Next, the judges will schedule a date to hear the case between the administration and plaintiffs, which involve foreign-born parents and their newborns.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For more than 150 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has enshrined the doctrine that every person born in the United States is a citizen, with specific conditions for children born to foreign diplomats and personnel of foreign military forces.

"Every individual 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 withhold citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US without legal status or are in the country on non-permanent visas.

The United States is among about 30 countries – primarily in the Americas – that grant automatic citizenship to anyone born on their soil.