America's top judicial body will consider case disputing birthright citizenship.

The US Supreme Court has decided to review a significant case that challenges a century-old guarantee: guaranteed citizenship for those born in the United States.

On day one in office this January, the administration signed an order aiming to halt the policy, but the action was subsequently blocked by federal courts after constitutional questions were initiated.

The Supreme Court's ultimate decision will ultimately uphold citizenship rights for the offspring of immigrants who are in the US illegally or on temporary visas, or it will end the provision completely.

Next, the court will schedule a date to hear arguments between the administration and claimants, which include parents who are immigrants and their infants.

The 14th Amendment

For more than 150 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has codified the principle that all individuals born in the United States is a US citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to foreign diplomats and personnel of invading forces.

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

The challenged directive sought to refuse citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States is one of about a minority of states – primarily in the North and South America – that grant instant citizenship to all those born within their borders.