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The Supreme Court of the United States on Thursday blocked the Department of Homeland Security’s attempt to end legal protections for the 650,000 young immigrants often referred to as “Dreamers”, posing a significant setback to Donald Trump’s anti-immigration policies.
The Court acknowledged that President Trump and the Department of Homeland Security have the authority to end the DACA programme, but rejected arguments that the programme was illegal and that courts had no role to play in reviewing the decision to end it.
In his written opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts (who joined the liberal wing of the Court in the 5-4 ruling) emphasised that the Supreme Court’s decision was based on purely apolitical reasoning.
“We do not decide whether DACA or its rescission are sound policies," he wrote. "We address only whether the agency complied with the procedural requirement that it provide a reasoned explanation for its action. Here the agency failed to consider the conspicuous issues of whether to retain forbearance and what if anything to do about the hardship to DACA recipients.”
He added that the Department of Homeland Security may try again.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme (DACA) was created in 2012 under President Obama, and allows people brought to the US illegally as children the temporary right to live, work and study in America. As of today, its protections are extended to 650,000 US residents.
Ending DACA was one of Trump’s signature promises during his 2016 presidential campaign. This latest setback is especially significant by its timing, coming less than five months before the 2020 election.
Following Thursday’s decision, the President tweeted: “Do you get the impression that the Supreme Court doesn’t like me?”
