America's top judicial body will review lawsuit questioning birthright citizenship.

The US Supreme Court has decided to review a pivotal case that questions a historic guarantee: automatic citizenship for those born within US borders.

On his first day in office this January, the President signed an order aiming to terminate the policy, but the action was struck down by lower courts after constitutional questions were filed.

The Supreme Court's ultimate ruling will either affirm citizenship rights for the offspring of migrants who are in the US illegally or on short-term permits, or it will overturn them completely.

Next, the judges will schedule a date to hear arguments between the federal government and claimants, which include foreign-born parents and their infants.

The 14th Amendment

For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has established the doctrine that every person born in the nation is a citizen, with exceptions for children born to embassy personnel and personnel of invading forces.

"All persons 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 children of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on non-permanent visas.

The United States belongs to a group of about three dozen nations – mostly in the Americas – that award immediate citizenship to any person born in their territory.