The nation's highest court has decided to consider lawsuit disputing automatic citizenship for those born in the US.

The nation's highest court has agreed to take on a pivotal case that challenges a historic principle: birthright citizenship for individuals born within US borders.

On day one in office this January, the administration signed an order aiming to end birthright citizenship, but the move was halted by federal courts after lawsuits were brought forward.

The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will ultimately uphold citizenship rights for the offspring of migrants who are in the US without authorization or on temporary visas, or it will end them altogether.

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

The 14th Amendment

For over a century and a half, the 14th Amendment has established the principle that every person born in the nation is a US citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to embassy personnel and personnel of occupying armies.

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

The disputed presidential order sought to deny citizenship to the children of people who are either in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on non-permanent visas.

The United States belongs to a group of about 30 countries – mostly in the Western Hemisphere – that grant automatic citizenship to all those born in their territory.