America's top judicial body will consider lawsuit questioning citizenship by birth.

The top court has agreed to take on a significant case that puts to the test a century-old constitutional right: birthright citizenship for those born within US borders.

On his first day in office this winter, the administration signed an order aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the move was halted by the judiciary after constitutional questions were brought forward.

The Supreme Court's eventual judgment will ultimately support citizenship rights for the children of migrants who are in the US illegally or on temporary visas, or it will nullify the provision altogether.

Next, the judges will calendar a session to hear the case between the government and the suing parties, which involve foreign-born parents and their young children.

The Legal Foundation

For more than 150 years, the Constitutional amendment has established the doctrine that all individuals born in the United States is a citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to embassy personnel and personnel of foreign military forces.

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

The contested presidential order sought to refuse citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on short-term status.

The United States belongs to a group of about 30 countries – primarily in the Western Hemisphere – that award instant citizenship to any person born within their borders.