US Supreme Court has decided to consider case challenging birthright citizenship.

The top court has will hear a significant case that challenges a century-old constitutional right: birthright citizenship for those born in the United States.

On the inaugural day in office this January, the President signed an order aiming to end this practice, but the order was halted by the judiciary after legal challenges were filed.

The Supreme Court's ultimate ruling will either affirm citizenship rights for the children of foreign nationals who are in the US undocumented or on short-term permits, or it will overturn them completely.

Next, the justices will set a time to hear the case between the federal government and the suing parties, which include foreign-born parents and their infants.

The Legal Foundation

For nearly 160 years, the Constitutional amendment has enshrined the principle that anyone born in the United States is a US citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to embassy personnel and members of invading forces.

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

The challenged presidential order 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 is among about a minority of states – largely in the Americas – that award immediate citizenship to all those born within their borders.