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Supreme Court to take up high-profile case over young immigrants

The Supreme Court is taking up the Trump administration's plan to end legal protections that shield 660,000 immigrants from deportation, with arguments Tuesday in a case with strong political overtones amid the 2020 presidential election campaign.

Michelle Lainez, 17, originally from El Salvador but now living in Gaithersburg, Md., speaks during a rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Friday, Nov. 8, 2019. The Supreme Court on Tuesday takes up the Trump administration’s plan to end legal protections that shield nearly 700,000 immigrants from deportation, in a case with strong political overtones amid the 2020 presidential election campaign. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Michelle Lainez, 17, originally from El Salvador but now living in Gaithersburg, Md., speaks during a rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Friday, Nov. 8, 2019. The Supreme Court on Tuesday takes up the Trump administration’s plan to end legal protections that shield nearly 700,000 immigrants from deportation, in a case with strong political overtones amid the 2020 presidential election campaign. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)Read moreSusan Walsh / AP
    by Mark Sherman, The Associated Press
    Published 

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is taking up the Trump administration’s plan to end legal protections that shield 660,000 immigrants from deportation. It’s a case with strong political overtones amid the 2020 presidential election campaign.

All eyes will be on Chief Justice John Roberts when the court hears arguments Tuesday. Roberts is the conservative justice closest to the court's center who's also keenly aware of public perceptions of an ideologically divided court.

It's the third time in three years the administration is asking the justices to rescue a controversial policy that's been blocked by lower courts.

The program at issue is Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The Obama-era program aimed to bring out of the shadows people who’ve been in the U.S. since they were children and are in the country illegally.