US Supreme Court has decided to consider case questioning citizenship by birth.

The nation's highest court has agreed to take on a significant case that questions a historic constitutional right: automatic citizenship for those born on American soil.

On the inaugural day in office this January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aiming to end the policy, but the action was struck down by the judiciary after legal challenges were filed.

The Supreme Court's final decision will either support citizenship rights for the offspring of migrants who are in the US undocumented or on short-term permits, or it will end the provision completely.

Next, the judges will calendar a session to hear the case between the administration and plaintiffs, which comprise parents who are immigrants and their newborns.

The Legal Foundation

For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the rule that every person born in the country is a citizen, with exceptions for children born to foreign diplomats and members of occupying armies.

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

The contested presidential order sought to withhold citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US in violation of immigration law or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States is one of about 30 countries – primarily in the North and South America – that provide automatic citizenship to anyone born within their borders.