The nation's highest court agrees to review lawsuit questioning birthright citizenship.

The US Supreme Court has decided to review a pivotal case that puts to the test a century-old constitutional right: birthright citizenship for people born on American soil.

On his first day in office this winter, the President signed an order aiming to terminate birthright citizenship, but the action was struck down by the judiciary after legal challenges were initiated.

The Supreme Court's ultimate judgment will either affirm citizenship rights for the children of immigrants who are in the US undocumented or on non-immigrant visas, or it will nullify those rights entirely.

Next, the judges will set a time to hear arguments between the administration and the suing parties, which involve immigrant parents and their newborns.

The Legal Foundation

For nearly 160 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has codified the rule that anyone born in the nation is a American 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 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 non-permanent visas.

The United States is among about a minority of states – mostly in the Western Hemisphere – that provide immediate citizenship to anyone born within their borders.