The nation's highest court will consider lawsuit questioning citizenship by birth.

The nation's highest court has agreed to take on a pivotal case that questions a century-old guarantee: automatic citizenship for those born in the United States.

On the inaugural day in office this January, President Donald Trump enacted a directive aiming to end birthright citizenship, but the order was halted by the judiciary after legal challenges were filed.

The Supreme Court's eventual decision will either support citizenship rights for the offspring of immigrants who are in the US without authorization or on short-term permits, or it will nullify the provision altogether.

Next, the judges will schedule a date to hear oral arguments between the federal government and plaintiffs, which include immigrant parents and their infants.

The 14th Amendment

For more than 150 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has established the principle that every person born in the United States is a US citizen, with exceptions for children born to embassy personnel and members of foreign military forces.

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

The disputed directive sought to refuse citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US without legal status or are in the country on non-permanent visas.

The United States is one of about a minority of states – primarily in the North and South America – that provide automatic citizenship to all those born in their territory.