US Supreme Court has decided to hear lawsuit challenging birthright citizenship.

The top court has agreed to take on a significant case that puts to the test a century-old constitutional right: guaranteed citizenship for those born on American soil.

On the inaugural day in office this winter, the administration enacted a directive aiming to terminate the policy, but the move was halted by the judiciary after legal challenges were initiated.

The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the infants of immigrants who are in the US undocumented or on short-term permits, or it will nullify those rights entirely.

Next, the justices will calendar a session to hear oral arguments between the federal government and plaintiffs, which comprise parents who are immigrants and their infants.

The Legal Foundation

For nearly 160 years, the Constitutional amendment has established the rule that every person born in the nation is a US citizen, with exceptions for children born to diplomats and members of occupying armies.

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

The challenged directive sought to withhold citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States belongs to a group of about three dozen nations – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that award instant citizenship to any person born on their soil.