The nation's highest court has decided to hear legal challenge questioning citizenship by birth.

The US Supreme Court has will hear a pivotal case that challenges a historic principle: birthright citizenship for individuals born on American soil.

On day one in office this winter, the administration issued an executive order aiming to halt the policy, but the action was halted by the judiciary after lawsuits were filed.

The Supreme Court's final judgment will ultimately uphold citizenship rights for the offspring of immigrants who are in the US without authorization or on short-term permits, or it will end the provision entirely.

Next, the court will set a time to hear oral arguments between the government and the suing parties, which comprise foreign-born parents and their young children.

The Legal Foundation

For over a century and a half, the Fourteenth Amendment has established the doctrine that all individuals born in the country is a US citizen, with exceptions for children born to diplomats and members of foreign military forces.

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

The contested directive sought to withhold citizenship to the children of people who are either in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on non-permanent visas.

The United States is one of about a minority of states – largely in the North and South America – that award instant citizenship to anyone born on their soil.