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

The nation's highest court has agreed to take on a significant case that challenges a longstanding constitutional right: birthright citizenship for people born within US borders.

On day one in office this winter, the President issued an executive order aiming to end the policy, but the order was struck down by federal courts after legal challenges were filed.

The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will ultimately affirm citizenship rights for the infants of foreign nationals who are in the US illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will end those rights completely.

Next, the judges will calendar a session to hear the case between the federal government and the suing parties, which involve immigrant parents and their infants.

The Legal Foundation

For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the principle that all individuals born in the country is a citizen, with exceptions for children born to embassy personnel and personnel of occupying armies.

"All persons 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 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 among about three dozen nations – largely in the Western Hemisphere – that provide automatic citizenship to anyone born within their borders.