America's top judicial body agrees to hear lawsuit questioning citizenship by birth.

The nation's highest court has agreed to take on a significant case that puts to the test a historic constitutional right: guaranteed citizenship for individuals born on American soil.

On his first day in office this winter, the administration signed an order aiming to halt the policy, but the order was halted by the judiciary after lawsuits were filed.

The Supreme Court's ultimate decision will ultimately uphold citizenship rights for the infants of migrants who are in the US illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will overturn those rights entirely.

Next, the court will schedule a date to hear oral arguments between the federal government and the suing parties, which include foreign-born parents and their newborns.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For nearly 160 years, the 14th Amendment has established the rule that anyone born in the nation is a US citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to diplomats and members of occupying armies.

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

The contested directive sought to deny citizenship to the children of people who are either in the US illegally or are in the country on short-term status.

The United States belongs to a group of about 30 countries – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that grant immediate citizenship to all those born within their borders.