Supreme Court appears to rebuff Trump’s push for quick DACA hearing

The federal program granting quasi-legal status and work permits to so-called Dreamers is likely to remain in effect through most of this year, after the Supreme Court appeared to rebuff President Donald Trump’s bid for quick action to resolve lawsuits over his attempt to wind down the program.

Justice Department lawyers had asked the justices to accept several cases over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and add them to the court’s calendar for argument in April, meaning a ruling could be issued by June. However, orders from the high court Tuesday morning made no mention of the DACA disputes.

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Typically, cases accepted by the court after mid-January are not argued until the fall, although the justices can accelerate cases if they wish.

Trump has indicated that he was expecting a ruling from the Supreme Court on the issue soon. Lower court judges found that the Trump administration’s attempt to end the program was likely unlawful. They ordered that the program — which protects immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally as children but have now spent more than a decade in this country — remain in place.

Trump has claimed that those court decisions led Democrats to lose interest in making a deal with him to pass legislation to provide more robust legal status to DACA recipients.