US president Donald Trump’s immigration policy has received a major setback, as the country’s supreme court ruled that the president cannot abolish the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme which protects immigrants who came to the United States as children. Instead, the administration’s attempt to end the programme was “arbitrary and capricious”, the court ruled. The move was challenged in court culminating in Thursday’s supreme court decision. About 700,000 people are covered by the DACA programme which allows them to live and work legally in the US, though their status must be renewed every two years. Mr Obama, who introduced the flagship DACA programme eight years ago, welcomed the court’s decision on the Dreamers Act.

Source: The Irish Times June 18, 2020 20:00 UTC