US Supreme Court will consider legal challenge questioning citizenship by birth.

The top court has decided to review a pivotal case that puts to the test a historic constitutional right: automatic citizenship for people born on American soil.

On his first day in office this winter, the President issued an executive order aiming to end this practice, but the order was struck down by the judiciary after constitutional questions were initiated.

The Supreme Court's final decision will ultimately uphold citizenship rights for the infants of immigrants who are in the US illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will overturn the provision altogether.

Next, the court will set a time to hear the case between the administration and plaintiffs, which comprise foreign-born parents and their young children.

The 14th Amendment

For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has codified the doctrine that all individuals born in the United States is a American citizen, with exceptions for children born to embassy personnel 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 disputed executive order sought to deny citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US without legal status or are in the country on short-term status.

The United States is one of about a minority of states – primarily in the North and South America – that award immediate citizenship to anyone born in their territory.