US Supreme Court has decided to consider lawsuit questioning birthright citizenship.

The top court has agreed to take on a significant case that questions a historic guarantee: automatic citizenship for those born in the United States.

On day one in office this January, the administration issued an executive order aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the order was halted by the judiciary after constitutional questions were initiated.

The Supreme Court's ultimate judgment will either affirm citizenship rights for the children of immigrants who are in the US without authorization or on non-immigrant visas, or it will overturn those rights altogether.

Next, the justices will set a time to hear oral arguments between the administration and plaintiffs, which comprise immigrant parents and their newborns.

The 14th Amendment

For over a century and a half, the Constitutional amendment has enshrined the rule that anyone born in the country is a US citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to diplomats and members 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 refuse citizenship to the children of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on non-permanent visas.

The United States is one of about a minority of states – primarily in the North and South America – that grant automatic citizenship to any person born within their borders.