US Supreme Court has decided to hear case challenging automatic citizenship for those born in the US.

The US Supreme Court has agreed to take on a pivotal case that questions a longstanding principle: birthright citizenship for individuals born on American soil.

On his first day in office this January, the President signed an order aiming to terminate birthright citizenship, but the move was subsequently blocked by federal courts after constitutional questions were filed.

The Supreme Court's final judgment will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the offspring of migrants who are in the US undocumented or on temporary visas, or it will end the provision altogether.

Next, the court will schedule a date to hear arguments between the federal government and the suing parties, which comprise parents who are immigrants and their young children.

The Legal Foundation

For over a century and a half, the 14th Amendment has codified the principle that every person born in the nation is a citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to embassy personnel and personnel of invading forces.

"Anyone 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 in violation of immigration law or are in the country on non-permanent visas.

The United States is one of about 30 countries – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that award immediate citizenship to any person born within their borders.