The nation's highest court will hear legal challenge disputing automatic citizenship for those born in the US.

The US Supreme Court has decided to review a landmark case that questions a longstanding guarantee: birthright citizenship for those born in the United States.

On the inaugural day in office this winter, the administration signed an order aiming to halt the policy, but the action was halted by lower courts after lawsuits were initiated.

The Supreme Court's eventual judgment will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the infants of immigrants who are in the US illegally or on temporary visas, or it will end those rights completely.

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

The Legal Foundation

For nearly 160 years, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the doctrine that every person born in the country is a US citizen, with exceptions for children born to foreign diplomats and personnel of invading forces.

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

The challenged executive order sought to withhold citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States is one of about a minority of states – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that provide instant citizenship to anyone born on their soil.