America's top judicial body will hear lawsuit questioning automatic citizenship for those born in the US.

The nation's highest court has will hear a significant case that challenges a historic principle: guaranteed citizenship for those born on American soil.

On day one in office this winter, the President issued an executive order aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the order was halted by the judiciary after constitutional questions were initiated.

The Supreme Court's final decision will ultimately uphold citizenship rights for the offspring of foreign nationals who are in the US without authorization or on non-immigrant visas, or it will overturn them altogether.

Next, the court will schedule a date to hear the case between the federal government and the suing parties, which comprise immigrant parents and their newborns.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For nearly 160 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has established the rule that all individuals born in the nation is a American citizen, with specific conditions 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 challenged presidential order sought to withhold citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on short-term status.

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