US Supreme Court has decided to hear lawsuit challenging birthright citizenship.

The top court has will hear a pivotal case that challenges a century-old constitutional right: birthright citizenship for individuals born on American soil.

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

The Supreme Court's ultimate judgment will ultimately support citizenship rights for the children of foreign nationals who are in the US illegally or on short-term permits, or it will end them completely.

Next, the justices will set a time to hear oral arguments between the government and claimants, which comprise parents who are immigrants and their infants.

The Legal Foundation

For over a century and a half, the Fourteenth Amendment has enshrined the rule that anyone born in the country is a citizen, with exceptions for children born to embassy personnel 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 contested executive order sought to refuse citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States belongs to a group of about a minority of states – mostly in the North and South America – that award immediate citizenship to anyone born on their soil.