The nation's highest court has decided to consider legal challenge disputing birthright citizenship.

The US Supreme Court has decided to review a pivotal case that puts to the test a century-old principle: guaranteed citizenship for individuals born on American soil.

On his first day in office this January, President Donald Trump enacted a directive aiming to halt birthright citizenship, but the action was subsequently blocked by federal courts after lawsuits were brought forward.

The Supreme Court's final judgment will either support citizenship rights for the offspring of immigrants who are in the US illegally or on temporary visas, or it will overturn the provision completely.

Next, the court will schedule a date to hear oral arguments between the administration and the suing parties, which involve parents who are immigrants and their newborns.

A Constitutional Cornerstone

For more than 150 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has enshrined the principle that all individuals born in the United States is a citizen, with exceptions for children born to embassy personnel 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 contested executive order sought to withhold citizenship to the children of people who are either in the US without legal status or are in the country on non-permanent visas.

The United States is among about a minority of states – mostly in the Americas – that provide immediate citizenship to all those born in their territory.