The US Supreme Court has ruled that the Trump administration cannot shut down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration programme, which was first established by Barack Obama.
DACA protects nearly 700,000 people, known as “Dreamers”, from facing immediate deportation from the US.
The Trump administration put forth a plan to disband DACA in an effort to crack down on immigration reform within the country – a promise made by the president when seeking election. But the Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday halted that effort.
The 5-4 ruling to protect DACA was made with Chief Justice John G Roberts writing the majority opinion and him being joined by the four liberal justices.
In the majority opinion, the justices did not argue if the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “may” disband DACA in the future. What it did rule, though, was that the Trump administration failed to currently give adequate justification for disbanding the immigration programme.
“For the reasons that follow, we conclude that the acting secretary did violate the APA [Administrative Procedure Act], and that the rescission must be vacated,” Chief Justice Roberts wrote.
He added: “The basic rule here is clear: an agency must defend its actions based on the reasons it gave when it acted. This is not the case for cutting corners to allow DHS to rely upon reasons absent from its original decision.”
The president reacted negatively to the decision on Thursday in a tweet.
“These horrible & politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives. We need more Justices or we will lose our 2nd. Amendment & everything else. Vote Trump 2020,” he wrote.
Mr Trump later added: “Do you get the impression that the Supreme Court doesn’t like me?”
DACA recipients, most of whom were brought to the US illegally as young children, can now continue to renew their programme membership, which gives them work authorisation and prevents deportation. The ruling also allows for new DACA recipients to apply for the programme.
Mr Obama first started the programme in 2012, and it provided recipients an option to remain in the country but would not give them a path to citizenship. Membership must be renewed by DACA recipients every two years.
The former president also reacted to the news of the Supreme Court ruling on Twitter.
“Eight years ago this week, we protected young people who were raised as part of our American family from deportation,” Mr Obama wrote. “Today, I’m happy for them, their families, and all of us. We may look different and come from everywhere, but what makes us American are our shared ideals ... and now to stand up for those ideals, we have to move forward and elect @JoeBiden and a Democratic Congress that does its job, protects DREAMers, and finally creates a system that’s truly worthy of this nation of immigrants once and for all.”
Mr Trump vowed shortly into his first term as president that he would end DACA, arguing the programme was illegal and unconstitutional. His decision to disband the programme was blocked by federal judges in the lower courts, which pushed the administration to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The justices remained divided over the decision, with Justice Clarence Thomas writing the dissent.
“Today’s decision must be recognised for what it is: an effort to avoid a politically controversial but legally correct decision,” he wrote.
The block by the Supreme Court is just a temporary solution to the DACA programme. The judges’ ruling gave the Trump administration guidance that the programme still could be disbanded if the proper justifications were given.
“We do not decide whether DACA or its rescission are sound policies,” Justice Roberts wrote, “‘The wisdom’ of those decisions ‘is none of our concern.’ Chenery II, 332 US, at 207. We address only whether the agency complied with the procedural requirement that it provide a reasoned explanation for its action.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook praised the Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday because it protected employees currently working for the tech company.
“The 478 Dreamers at Apple are members of our collective family. With creativity and passion, they’ve made us a stronger, more innovative American company. We’re glad for today’s decision and will keep fighting until DACA’s protections are permanent,” he wrote.
DACA is a popular programme within the US, according to polling. About 83 per cent of Americans favour or strongly favour an option for children brought to the US illegally to have a path towards citizenship if they met a set of requirements.
But this hasn’t stopped the Trump administration from working to disband the programme.
Whether Mr Trump will continue to pursue ending the programme over the next four months remains to be seen as he seeks re-election. But if the president wins a second term, he could again work to end the programme.
A way to permanently protect DACA recipients would rely on legislative action by congress, something that both sides of the aisle have previously considered in past bills but faced blocks from Mr Trump.
Both Republicans and Democrats have approved of DACA because of the benefits recipients brought to society. About 90 per cent hold jobs, including an estimated 29,000 working in the healthcare industry, according to NPR. Recipients have also earned degrees, started families, and bought homes.
Pressure would now be on lawmakers for how they will permanently address DACA recipients and their citizenship status.
