The nation's highest court has decided to consider case challenging birthright citizenship.

The nation's highest court has agreed to take on a landmark case that challenges a historic constitutional right: guaranteed citizenship for people born in the United States.

On day one in office this January, President Donald Trump signed an order aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the move was subsequently blocked by lower courts after constitutional questions were brought forward.

The Supreme Court's ultimate judgment will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the offspring of foreign nationals who are in the US without authorization or on temporary visas, or it will overturn them altogether.

Next, the judges will set a time to hear the case between the federal government and plaintiffs, which involve immigrant parents and their infants.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the doctrine that all individuals born in the United States is a citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to foreign diplomats and members of invading forces.

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

The contested directive sought to withhold citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on short-term status.

The United States is among about three dozen nations – primarily in the Americas – that provide automatic citizenship to all those born in their territory.