US Supreme Court will hear lawsuit challenging citizenship by birth.

The top court has agreed to take on a pivotal case that puts to the test a century-old principle: automatic citizenship for those born on American soil.

On his first day in office this winter, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aiming to halt this practice, but the order was struck down by the judiciary after legal challenges were brought forward.

The Supreme Court's final judgment will either support citizenship rights for the children of migrants who are in the US without authorization or on temporary visas, or it will overturn the provision completely.

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

The 14th Amendment

For over a century and a half, the Fourteenth Amendment has enshrined the rule that all individuals born in the country is a US citizen, with exceptions for children born to foreign diplomats and members of occupying armies.

"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 deny citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US without legal status or are in the country on non-permanent visas.

The United States is one of about a minority of states – largely in the Americas – that award automatic citizenship to all those born on their soil.