The US Supreme Court has ruled on Thursday (June 18), that the Trump administration cannot execute its plan to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), and has stated that it will remain in place.

The DACA program has allowed nearly 800,000 young people - referred to as "Dreamers" - to avoid deportation and remain in the United States.

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Per NBC, the decision was autored mostly by Chief Justice John Roberts, and has been described as a huge legal defeat for President Donald Trump and his focus surrounding immigration.

Upwards of  652,800 people, including doctors who are fighting coronavirus on the front line, could be affected by the decision to remove the program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the Guardian reports.

While the program did not present a pathway to citizenship, it did allow young people who grew up in the US without legal immigration status to obtain renewable two-year authorizations to live and work there.

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The program was implemented by Barack Obama in 2012.

It's a popular policy and a Marquette University law school poll found that 53% of voters would oppose a decision by the supreme court to end DACA.

A Pew Research survey this month found that 74% of Americans were in favor of a law that would give legal status to undocumented immigrants who enter the country as children.

Trump appeared to be one of the most powerful Dreamer supporters.

Days after ending the program in 2017, he tweeted: "Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military? Really!"

The Trump administration justified its decision to shut down the DACA because they claimed it was implemented illegally by Obama in 2012, forcing the courts to debate its legality.

Donald Trump's time in the White House has been anything but a smooth ride. Since becoming the 45th President of the United States, Trump has alienated large swathes of US and beyond with arbitrary policies - seemingly intent on dividing rather than uniting the American population. Certainly, within the last two months, Trump not only announced his intention to ban transgender personnel from serving in the military but his response to a deadly white-supremacist rally held in Charlottesville was lambasted for being divisive. Most recently, Trump announced the most significant decision that his administration has made on immigration to date; and no, it wasn't about the wall, or who's going to be paying for it - rather, he revealed that he would be putting an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA). Since 2012, DACA has protected almost 800,000 unauthorised young adult immigrants from being deported, and has allowed them to work legally in the US. The immigrants who are protected by DACA grew up in America, and many were unaware of their undocumented status until later in life. As such, the program was designed to give these people a chance to build their lives in the country that they had grown up in. However, on September 5th, Trump announced that no one new will be protected under the scheme and that those who are currently covered will begin to lose their work permits in March 2018. If this isn't disheartening enough, following the government's announcement, it was discovered that a Trump-supporting college student tried to get his DACA classmate deported. Taylor Ragg who is a student at Transylvania University reportedly took to Facebook to post a screenshot of his classmate's Facebook profile with the caption: "Everyone go report this illegal at my school". The student that Ragg was attempting to get deported has been identified as Paola Garcia, who has since alleged that she has been repeatedly harassed by Ragg. In video format, Garcia disclosed that she has been subjected to abusive messages which included "I can't wait till your f***ing c*** a** is gone" and "hope you enjoy your visit back to the dirt floors of your homeland, stinky a**". Poetic justice was quickly served to this college student, however, as a college spokesperson from Transylvania University has confirmed that Taylor Ragg has since been expelled for his actions: "Taylor Ragg is no longer enrolled at Transylvania University. Per University policy and federal laws, we cannot offer any further details into the matter." This is heartening news as initially administrators from the university claimed that they had no duty to get involved in the incident. Personally, I believe that it is essential that institutions of learning such as universities and schools have a definite stance on political matters such as DACA, as such organisations have a duty to protect and shelter the young adults that they educate - a responsibility that Donald Trump's administration has clearly forsaken.

If Donald Trump ends birthright citizenship, it won't just affect illegal immigrants.

After taking office as the 47th president, the 79-year-old signed an executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship.

Under the new order, children born to parents who are "unlawfully present" in the country or on temporary visas - such as tourist, student, or work visas - would no longer be eligible for US citizenship, Al Jazeera reported.

This is a major shift from the 14th Amendment, which has guaranteed automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. since its ratification in 1868.

Groups Affected by the End of Birthright Citizenship

1. Children of Undocumented Immigrants

The most obvious group affected by this change would be children born to undocumented immigrants.

According to Pew Research, in 2022, approximately 1.2 million U.S. citizens were born to undocumented parents, but under the proposed order, these children would no longer automatically receive citizenship.

This could leave them unable to claim citizenship and possibly facing deportation with their parents.

1. Children of Legal Immigrants and Visa Holders

Another group affected is children born to legal immigrants on temporary visas, including H-1B visa holders, tourists, students, and workers.

These children would also lose their birthright citizenship, denying them a benefit many families expect.

1. Children Born to U.S. Citizens Abroad

While this change would not directly impact children of US citizens born abroad - as they can claim citizenship through their parents - it adds to the ongoing debate about who should be considered a legitimate American citizen.

Critics worry this policy could lead to future restrictions on citizenship for children of U.S. citizens living outside the country.

Legal Challenges and Pushback

Attorneys general from 22 U.S. states, many of them led by Democrats, have filed lawsuits to stop the order.

They have argued that birthright citizenship is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and cannot be undone by presidential decree. "The president cannot, with a stroke of a pen, write the 14th Amendment out of existence," New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, a US citizen by birthright and the first Chinese American elected attorney general, added: "The 14th Amendment says what it means, and it means what it says - if you are born on American soil, you are an American. Period. Full stop.

"There is no legitimate legal debate on this question. But the fact that Trump is dead wrong will not prevent him from inflicting serious harm right now on American families like my own," he said.

The lawsuits also argue that the change would affect families who are already vulnerable.

The Supreme Court began hearing arguments in the birthright citizenship case on Wednesday (April 1).

According to The Independent, Trump attended the hearing and left in the middle of oral arguments. This marks the first time a sitting president has participated in Supreme Court arguments.

The justices will decide whether Trump can change who qualifies for American citizenship after he signed an executive order attempting to deny automatic citizenship to children born to certain immigrant parents.

Before attending the hearing, the president made his stance clear on Truth Social: "Birthright Citizenship is not about rich people from China, and the rest of the World, who want their children, and hundreds of thousands more, FOR PAY, to ridiculously become citizens of the United States of America. It is about the BABIES OF SLAVES!

"We are the only Country in the World that dignifies this subject with even discussion. Look at the dates of this long ago legislation - THE EXACT END OF THE CIVIL WAR!

"The World is getting rich selling citizenships to our Country, while at the same time laughing at how STUPID our U.S. Court System has become (TARIFFS!). 'Dumb Judges and Justices will not a great Country make!'" he added.

Featured image credit: Alex Wong / Getty

Since the Trump administration took over the White House, it could be argued that immigrants and the children of foreign nationals in the USA have been made to feel alienated and unwanted. As well as his ongoing promise to build a wall to keep the "bad hombres" out of the states, the president has also made efforts to rescind DACA, and it's reported that he made it very clear what he thinks about certain "s**thole countries". For his supporters, it might be easy to throw out excuses as to why certain people shouldn't be allowed to stay in the country while others get to enjoy its luxuries due to the happy coincidence that they were born there; but, for the families who have worked hard and done all they could to assimilate into the USA, being told that they have to "go home" is an incredibly painful experience. This was particularly harrowing for one man from Michigan, who was told that - after living in America for three decades - he would have to return to Mexico. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/nwarikoo/status/952880506433163265]] Jorge Garcia, who first came to the states with an undocumented relative when he was just 10-years-old, was forced to say goodbye to his wife and two children - all of whom are American citizens - and fly to Mexico on Monday. Images of him embracing his family at the airport quickly circulated on the internet, and caused many to question exactly why this man wasn't allowed to stay. After all, it's not as if he didn't try to attain a legal status. Having been brought here at such a young age, Garcia had no real control or understanding of whether he was or was not legally allowed to reside in the states - but, in 2005, he and his wife tried to "fix his paperwork" in order to make sure he was complying with U.S. laws. Unfortunately, Garcia was just one year too old to qualify for DACA, and his notifying the state that he was of Mexican origin actually began deportation proceedings. He faced his first removal order in 2009, but his deportation was stayed during the Obama administration in order to give his family time to find a way for him to get legal status. Now that the government has changed hands, however, that time is up. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/ishirew/status/953008693351800837]] “I got to leave my family behind, knowing that they’re probably going to have a hard time adjusting," Garcia said before leaving. "Me not being there for them for who knows how long - it’s just hard.” His wife is also distraught by the ruling, and can't understand how the system would allow an American family to get split up like this. “I am a U.S. citizen and it is affecting me. We tried to do things the right way,” said Cindy Garcia. “We tried and he got sent back to a country he does not know.” Speaking with CNN, she added: “His case needs to be looked at individually because he deserves to be here in a country that he’s known, not Mexico,” she explained, going on to say that there are many other families in similar situations. “It affects 11 million other people,” she said, “but at least I can come forward and tell my story because I am a U.S. citizen and I do not have to hide in any shadows.” [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/EriksenErin/status/953094287138402306]] As someone who has never broken the law, always paid his taxes and raised a family in the USA, it seems absurd that Jorge Garcia could be so heartlessly turned away. However, since Trump enforced strict new policies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are cracking down on undocumented immigrants. "As ICE Deputy Director Thomas Homan has made clear, ICE does not exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement. All of those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States," said an ICE spokesperson in a statement. Garcia could be held in Mexico for at least 10 years under the deportation order, but his wife has said she will do all she can to bring him back before then.

Donald Trump is no friend of foreigners, unless you're a dictator from Russia, or a supermodel from Slovenia. I mean, remember when he peddled that idiotic conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was born in Kenya, not Hawaii? How about when he launched his presidential campaign by calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals? Since he became president, he's remained America's racist grandpa, tweeting racist images, calling Senators racial slurs and attempting to "ban all Muslims" from entering the country. For someone who claims to be "the least racist person you've ever met," he sure makes a lot of racially charged remarks. Currently, Trump is negotiating with lawmakers over how to help "Dreamers" - young undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children. The Obama-led Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program - aka DACA - granted short-term passes to these 700,000 undocumented immigrants, so they could live and work without fear of deportation. However, last September, Trump killed the program, for seemingly no reason. And now he says he won't sign any legislation that helps dreamers unless it includes a plan to build his famous "wall." (Even though it's impossible, ineffective and ridiculously expensive - also, Mexico's not paying for it!) During today's negotiations, some congressional lawmakers proposed granting visas to people from Haiti, El Salvador and African nations who are here on temporary protected status. That status has already been terminated for more than 200,000 immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and Nicaragua, who now have just a few months to decide whether they should leave or face deportation. In response to this reasonable request that shows the basic minimum of human decency, Trump scoffed, asking "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" Then he suggested the U.S. "should have more people from places like Norway." (White countries are good and brown countries are bad, apparently.)