In a late-night filing ahead of a case scheduled for oral arguments in November, Solicitor General Noel Francisco argued the Trump administration had the legal authority to rescind DACA in 2017.



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The case under review by the Supreme Court is about the legality of the president's order to end DACA, not the legality of the Obama-era program that allows hundreds of thousands of so-called Dreamers — undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as minors — to temporarily live and work in the United States without risk of deportation. "At best, DACA is legally questionable; at worst, it is illegal," wrote Francisco.The case under review by the Supreme Court is about the legality of the president's order to end DACA, not the legality of the Obama-era program that allows hundreds of thousands of so-called Dreamers — undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as minors — to temporarily live and work in the United States without risk of deportation.

The court is likely to issue its decision in the case in June or July, just months ahead of the presidential election. The final ruling could have profound implications for the 2020 race and thrust immigration back into the spotlight as a central campaign issue.



Trump in 2017 prompted litigation with his order to strip the benefits granted to Dreamers by his predecessor.

That order was blocked by federal judges, and the 9th Circuit affirmed those decisions on the grounds that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) enacted Trump's rescission of DACA based solely on "a belief that DACA was unlawful."