‘The dream is alive:' Florida, national officials react to Supreme Court DACA ruling

It was a historic and powerful day on Capitol Hill as the U.S. Supreme Court rejected President Trump’s efforts to end protections for young immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program Thursday.

The justices rejected the Trump administration’s arguments that the 8-year-old program is illegal and that courts have no role to play in reviewing the decision to end DACA. The program covers people who have been in the United States since they were children and are in the country illegally. In some cases, they have no memory of any home other than the U.S., the Associated Press reported.

According to the AP, young immigrants will retain their protection from deportation and their authorization to work in the United States.

The president took to Twitter to voice his opinion on the ruling, saying that “These horrible & politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives. We need more Justices or we will lose our 2nd Amendment & everything else. Vote Trump 2020!”

Elected officials and leaders across Florida and the nation are reacting to the historic decision that will protect the legal rights of 650,000 young immigrants.

[READ MORE: Supreme Court rejects President Trump’s effort to end protections for young immigrants]

Rep. Val Demings (Florida- D) released a statement expressing her approval of the decision, but rebuked the president for his attempt to do away with the program.

“The Dream is alive! Our Dreamers are American in every way except a piece of paper. They are our neighbors, our friends, our first responders, and so much more. They are us. The American Dream means that if you play by the rules and work hard, you can make it in America, and I’m thrilled to see the Supreme Court agree,” Demings said in a statement. “It is now official: the Trump Administration attacked a group of people who they felt were ‘lesser.’ It was cruel, it was arbitrary, and it violated basic principles of human decency. I am sure that the Trump Administration will continue to attack these upstanding young people, but millions of others will be standing shoulder to shoulder to protect them, and to protect the American Dream.”

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz took to Facebook to applaud the decision made by the justices, saying she was “elated” to see that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of “dreamers.”

Rep. Anna Eskamani called the historic ruling a “huge win for our Dreamers” on her Facebook page.

Rep. Amy Mercado released a statement calling the ruling a “victory for our country as we see that no administration is above the law.”

She continued to say that the nation is greater in thanks to “immigrants and their contributions past, present, and future.”

Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith voiced his approval of the ruling on Twitter and released a statement congratulating dreamers on for the success of the movement they built that ultimately led to Thursday’s decision.

“I’m thrilled and relieved with this SCOTUS decision, which temporarily saves DACA and blocks Trump’s cruel attempt to end the program for nearly 650,000 young adults who want a life of dignity and respect,” Smith said. “Congratulations to all the DREAMers out there who built the movement, which led to today’s historic decision. These brave young adults are working, going to school, living their lives, and contributing to America. This is their home. Taking legal status away so President Trump can deport them is morally reprehensible and would hurt our economy.”

Presidential hopeful Joe Biden also tweeted his approval of the ruling, calling the ruling a “victory made possible by the courage and resilience of hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients who bravely stood up and refused to be ignored.”

This is the second ruling in the same week that shot down efforts by the Trump administration to roll back protections for vulnerable communities across the nation.

On Monday, the Supreme Court also ruled that it’s illegal to fire people because they’re gay or transgender.