America's top judicial body has decided to hear case challenging citizenship by birth.

The nation's highest court has agreed to take on a significant case that puts to the test a century-old guarantee: guaranteed citizenship for people born on American soil.

On his first day in office this January, the President signed an order aiming to terminate this practice, but the order was subsequently blocked by lower courts after legal challenges were filed.

The Supreme Court's final ruling will either uphold citizenship rights for the infants of immigrants who are in the US illegally or on short-term permits, or it will nullify the provision completely.

Next, the judges will calendar a session to hear the case between the government and claimants, which comprise foreign-born parents and their young children.

The 14th Amendment

For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has enshrined the doctrine that all individuals born in the country is a American citizen, with specific conditions for children born to diplomats and personnel 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 directive sought to withhold citizenship to the offspring of people who are either in the US without legal status or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States belongs to a group of about three dozen nations – mostly in the Americas – that award instant citizenship to any person born in their territory.