America's top judicial body will hear legal challenge disputing automatic citizenship for those born in the US.

The top court has agreed to take on a pivotal case that puts to the test a century-old principle: birthright citizenship for those born within US borders.

On his first day in office this winter, the President enacted a directive aiming to terminate birthright citizenship, but the order was subsequently blocked by the judiciary after legal challenges were brought forward.

The Supreme Court's ultimate ruling will ultimately support citizenship rights for the offspring of foreign nationals who are in the US without authorization or on non-immigrant visas, or it will nullify them completely.

Next, the court will set a time to hear arguments between the government and plaintiffs, which include foreign-born parents and their newborns.

The 14th Amendment

For over a century and a half, the Fourteenth Amendment has codified the rule that all individuals born in the United States is a American citizen, with exceptions for children born to diplomats and members of invading forces.

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

The challenged directive sought to deny citizenship to the children of people who are either in the US without legal status or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States is among about a minority of states – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that award immediate citizenship to any person born in their territory.