US Supreme Court will hear lawsuit questioning automatic citizenship for those born in the US.

The top court has will hear a pivotal case that puts to the test a historic guarantee: guaranteed citizenship for those born in the United States.

On the inaugural day in office this January, President Donald Trump signed an order aiming to terminate birthright citizenship, but the order was halted by lower courts after constitutional questions were brought forward.

The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will either uphold citizenship rights for the infants of immigrants who are in the US without authorization or on short-term permits, or it will overturn the provision altogether.

Next, the judges will schedule a date to hear oral arguments between the administration and claimants, which comprise foreign-born parents and their infants.

The 14th Amendment

For over a century and a half, the Constitutional amendment has established the principle that anyone born in the United States is a US citizen, with certain exclusions for children born to diplomats and personnel 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 presidential order sought to deny citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States belongs to a group of about 30 countries – largely in the North and South America – that grant instant citizenship to all those born in their territory.