Supreme Court prevents Trump from terminating legal protection of young migrants

On Thursday, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could not shut down the immigration program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which was first founded by President Barack Obama.

DACA protects almost 700,000 people, known as "Dreamers," from automatic removal from the United States.


In an attempt to clamp down on immigration reform within the country, the Trump administration put out a proposal to dismantle DACA – a pledge that the president made while seeking election. But Thursday's Supreme Court decision stopped the attempt.


The 5-4 ruling was made with Chief Justice John G Roberts writing the majority opinion, and the four liberal justices joining him to protect DACA.


In the majority opinion, the judges did not argue whether DACA was "may" disbanded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). However, what it did rule was that at present, the Trump administration failed to provide sufficient justification for disbanding the immigration programme.


"For the following reasons, we conclude that the Acting Secretary infringed the APA and that the rescission had to be vacated," said Chief Justice Roberts.


He added: "Here the fundamental rule is clear: an agency must defend its actions on the basis of the reasons it gave when it acted. This is not the case when cutting corners to allow DHS to rely on reasons which are not in its original decision.



DACA applicants, most of whom were unlawfully brought to the US as young children, will continue to be eligible to extend their membership in the program, which grants them work permits and avoids deportation. The ruling also permits applications for the program to new DACA recipients.


Mr Obama first initiated the initiative in 2012, which provided the beneficiaries with an opportunity to remain in the country but did not provide them with a path to citizenship. DACA recipients must renew membership every 2 years.


But instead, shortly into his first term as president, Mr Trump promised that he would terminate DACA, claiming that the system was unlawful and unconstitutional. His decision to dismantle the plan, which forced the government to appeal to the Supreme Court, was blocked by federal judges at lower courts.



The courts remained divided over the ruling, with the dissent written by Justice Clarence Thomas.

"There must be understanding of today's decision for what it is: an attempt to prevent a politically divisive yet legally sound decision," he wrote.