America's top judicial body will consider case challenging citizenship by birth.

The US Supreme Court has will hear a pivotal case that challenges a century-old principle: automatic citizenship for people born within US borders.

On the inaugural day in office this January, the administration issued an executive order aiming to end birthright citizenship, but the order was struck down by lower courts after constitutional questions were initiated.

The Supreme Court's eventual judgment will ultimately uphold citizenship rights for the offspring of foreign nationals who are in the US undocumented or on short-term permits, or it will nullify the provision completely.

Next, the court will schedule a date to hear arguments between the administration and the suing parties, which comprise foreign-born parents and their newborns.

The Legal Foundation

For more than 150 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has enshrined the doctrine that anyone born in the nation is a citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to foreign diplomats and personnel of occupying armies.

"All persons 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 refuse citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States is among about 30 countries – primarily in the Western Hemisphere – that award instant citizenship to all those born in their territory.