US Supreme Court will hear legal challenge challenging automatic citizenship for those born in the US.

The US Supreme Court has agreed to take on a significant case that challenges a longstanding principle: automatic citizenship for people born within US borders.

On day one in office this winter, the administration signed an order aiming to halt this practice, but the order was subsequently blocked by lower courts after constitutional questions were brought forward.

The Supreme Court's final decision will ultimately uphold citizenship rights for the children of immigrants who are in the US undocumented or on temporary visas, or it will nullify them altogether.

Next, the court will calendar a session to hear oral arguments between the administration and the suing parties, which comprise immigrant parents and their newborns.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For nearly 160 years, the Constitutional amendment has codified the doctrine that anyone born in the country is a citizen, with specific conditions for children born to diplomats and members of foreign military forces.

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

The disputed directive sought to refuse citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US illegally or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States belongs to a group of about a minority of states – mostly in the North and South America – that award instant citizenship to any person born on their soil.