US Supreme Court will review case disputing birthright citizenship.

The US Supreme Court has will hear a significant case that challenges a longstanding guarantee: birthright citizenship for those born within US borders.

On his first day in office this winter, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aiming to end birthright citizenship, but the action was halted by federal courts after legal challenges were initiated.

The Supreme Court's eventual decision will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the infants of foreign nationals who are in the US illegally or on temporary visas, or it will nullify them completely.

Next, the judges will set a time to hear arguments between the administration and the suing parties, which comprise parents who are immigrants and their young children.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has codified the principle that all individuals born in the country is a US citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to embassy personnel 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 contested presidential order sought to deny citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US illegally or are in the country on non-permanent visas.

The United States is among about three dozen nations – primarily in the North and South America – that provide instant citizenship to all those born in their territory.