The nation's highest court will consider case questioning automatic citizenship for those born in the US.

The US Supreme Court has will hear a pivotal case that questions a longstanding principle: guaranteed citizenship for individuals born on American soil.

On the inaugural day in office this January, the President enacted a directive aiming to halt this practice, but the order was subsequently blocked by lower courts after legal challenges were filed.

The Supreme Court's eventual judgment will either affirm citizenship rights for the children of immigrants who are in the US undocumented or on short-term permits, or it will end them altogether.

Next, the justices will schedule a date to hear the case between the administration and the suing parties, which comprise parents who are immigrants and their infants.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has established the rule that every person born in the nation is a citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to diplomats and personnel 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 disputed directive sought to withhold citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US without legal status or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States is among about 30 countries – largely in the North and South America – that award instant citizenship to anyone born within their borders.