The nation's highest court has decided to review lawsuit questioning birthright citizenship.

The US Supreme Court has decided to review a significant case that challenges a historic guarantee: birthright citizenship for those born on American soil.

On the inaugural day in office this January, the administration issued an executive order aiming to terminate birthright citizenship, but the move was halted by lower courts after constitutional questions were filed.

The Supreme Court's final decision will either uphold citizenship rights for the infants of migrants who are in the US undocumented or on non-immigrant visas, or it will end those rights altogether.

Next, the justices will schedule a date to hear arguments between the federal government and claimants, which comprise foreign-born parents and their newborns.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For over a century and a half, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the doctrine that every person born in the country is a US citizen, with specific conditions for children born to foreign 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 challenged executive order sought to deny citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on non-permanent visas.

The United States is among about a minority of states – mostly in the North and South America – that award immediate citizenship to any person born in their territory.