US Supreme Court will hear legal challenge questioning citizenship by birth.

The top court has agreed to take on a landmark case that puts to the test a longstanding constitutional right: birthright citizenship for individuals born on American soil.

On his first day in office this winter, the President signed an order aiming to end this practice, but the move was halted by lower courts after lawsuits were filed.

The Supreme Court's eventual judgment will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the offspring of migrants who are in the US undocumented or on short-term permits, or it will end them completely.

Next, the court will set a time to hear the case between the federal government and plaintiffs, which comprise parents who are immigrants and their young children.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For more than 150 years, the Constitutional amendment has established the rule that anyone born in the country is a American citizen, with exceptions for children born to foreign diplomats and members of invading forces.

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

The disputed presidential order sought to withhold citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US without legal status or are in the country on short-term status.

The United States is among about a minority of states – primarily in the Western Hemisphere – that grant immediate citizenship to anyone born on their soil.