US Supreme Court will review lawsuit questioning birthright citizenship.

The nation's highest court has will hear a pivotal case that challenges a century-old guarantee: birthright citizenship for those born on American soil.

On the inaugural day in office this January, the President issued an executive order aiming to terminate birthright citizenship, but the order was halted by the judiciary after legal challenges were brought forward.

The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will either support citizenship rights for the children of immigrants who are in the US undocumented or on non-immigrant visas, or it will end them completely.

Next, the judges will schedule a date to hear arguments between the administration and claimants, which comprise parents who are immigrants and their newborns.

The Legal Foundation

For over a century and a half, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the principle that every person born in the nation is a American citizen, with certain exclusions 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 executive order sought to deny citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US illegally or are in the country on non-permanent visas.

The United States is one of about a minority of states – primarily in the Western Hemisphere – that provide immediate citizenship to anyone born in their territory.