The nation's highest court has decided to hear case disputing birthright citizenship.

The top court has decided to review a pivotal case that puts to the test a historic guarantee: birthright citizenship for those born within US borders.

On his first day in office this January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aiming to terminate the policy, but the order was struck down by the judiciary after lawsuits were filed.

The Supreme Court's ultimate ruling will either support citizenship rights for the children of migrants who are in the US without authorization or on non-immigrant visas, or it will end those rights entirely.

Next, the court will calendar a session to hear the case between the administration and claimants, which comprise foreign-born parents and their infants.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For over a century and a half, the Fourteenth Amendment has codified the rule that anyone born in the nation is a citizen, with specific conditions for children born to embassy personnel and members 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 challenged directive 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 North and South America – that grant immediate citizenship to anyone born within their borders.