In a striking rebuke to President Trump, the Supreme Court rejected his plan to repeal the popular Obama-era order that protected so-called Dreamers, the approximately 700 000 young immigrants who were brought to this country illegally as children.

Led by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the court called the decision to cancel the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, arbitrary and not justified. The program allows these young people to register with the government and, if they have a clean criminal record, to obtain a work permit and be assured they will not be deported. At least 27 000 DACA participants are employed as healthcare workers.