Supreme Court to Review President Trump’s Effort to Cancel DACA

Case on immigration program is likely to be decided during the 2020 election season

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether the Trump administration acted lawfully when it canceled a program that provided legal protections and work permits to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, adding a blockbuster case likely to be decided in the middle of next year’s presidential-election season.

The case, involving the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, is a high-stakes affair for President Trump’s immigration agenda and for hundreds of thousands of program beneficiaries, popularly known as Dreamers. It comes at a time when the country is deeply polarized on immigration politics, which promises to be a major campaign issue again in 2020 elections.

The timing of the Supreme Court’s announcement means it will consider the case during its next term, which begins in October, with a decision likely in the spring or summer of 2020. The case was one of 11 new matters the court added to its docket a day after issuing its last rulings before a three-month summer break.

Among the other cases, the court agreed to review the conviction of an aide to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the scandal known as Bridgegate. It also will review a Montana case that examines whether religious schools can be eligible for government student-aid programs.

Mr. Trump’s 2017 decision to cancel the DACA program remains one of the most visible actions of his presidency. The DACA wind-down was supposed to begin in March 2018, but lower courts have prevented the administration from rescinding the program, prompting the appeal to the Supreme Court.

The program, initiated by President Obama in 2012, provided protection from deportation and work authorization for individuals who arrived in the U.S. under the age of 16 and met a variety of other conditions, including being a student or graduate and having no significant criminal record. Nearly 700,000 people currently benefit from DACA and can seek renewals of their status every two years.

Mr. Trump and administration officials have said DACA isn’t lawful because Congress hasn’t authorized any such policy.

Read the rest from the WSJ HERE.