The nation's highest court will hear case questioning automatic citizenship for those born in the US.

The nation's highest court has decided to review a significant case that puts to the test a century-old principle: automatic citizenship for people born within US borders.

On the inaugural day in office this winter, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aiming to end this practice, but the order was halted by lower courts after lawsuits were brought forward.

The Supreme Court's ultimate decision will either support citizenship rights for the children of foreign nationals who are in the US undocumented or on short-term permits, or it will nullify the provision completely.

Next, the justices will calendar a session to hear the case between the government and plaintiffs, which include immigrant parents and their infants.

The Legal Foundation

For more than 150 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has established the doctrine that anyone born in the United States is a American citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to foreign diplomats 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 presidential order sought to deny citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States is one of about 30 countries – largely in the Americas – that provide automatic citizenship to all those born within their borders.