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\"PHOTO:
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
PHOTO: DACA recipients and their supporters rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court on June 18, 2020, in Washington, DC.
>

Chief Justice Roberts, a conservative who sometimes sides with the liberal justices in cases with major political consequences for the nation and the court, was joined in the opinion by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan. Justice Sonia Sotomayor joined the majority in all but one part, and filed an opinion as well.

Political conservatives lashed out at Roberts, who for the second time this week joined with the liberals on a major decision. \"Chief Justice Roberts once again has failed to stand up for the institutional interests of the Court by allowing it to be weaponized for partisan ends,\" said Carrie Severino, president of the Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative advocacy group.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz attacked the court in a speech on the Senate floor, calling the decision \"lawless.\" \"It was gamesmanship. It was contrary to the judicial oath,\" he said.

Justice Clarence Thomas' dissent was joined in part by Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch. Additionally, Justice Brett Kavanaugh filed an opinion concurring and dissenting in part.

\"We know that this is a temporary victory,\" said Greisa Martinez, a 30-year-old DACA recipient and deputy executive director of United We Dream, an advocacy group. \"Everyone that can vote needs to vote this November to make sure that Donald Trump doesn't get to make the decision of taking DACA away again.\"

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in a statement pledged to \"immediately work to make [protections for Dreamers] permanent by sending a bill to Congress on day one\" if he wins the White House.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told DACA recipients celebrating outside the Supreme Court that he wants them to have citizenship. \"This is just the beginning,\" Schumer said. \"You are going to become American citizens and great American citizens at that.\"

Eight years ago this week, we protected young people who were raised as part of our American family from deportation. Today, I'm happy for them, their families, and all of us. We may look different and come from everywhere, but what makes us American are our shared ideals…

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 18, 2020

Former President Barack Obama tweeted in support of the young immigrants. \"Eight years ago this week, we protected young people who were raised as part of our American family from deportation. Today, I'm happy for them, their families, and all of us. We may look different and come from everywhere, but what makes us American are our shared ideals,\" Obama posted on Twitter.

Trump made cracking down on immigration and terminating DACA a central campaign issue when he ran for president starting in 2015. Over the course of his campaign, Trump specifically targeted Mexican people, infamously referring to Mexicans who come to the United States, saying, \"They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists.\"

Sotomayor quoted that line in her concurring opinion, in which she took issue with the majority opinion finding that Trump's decision to end DACA was not \"motivated by animus.\"

\"But the impact of the policy decision must be viewed in the context of the President’s public statements on and off the campaign trail,\" Sotomayor argues. \"At the motion-to-dismiss stage, I would not so readily dismiss the allegation that an executive decision disproportionately harms the same racial group that the President branded as less desirable mere months earlier.\"

Many DACA recipients said they are breathing a sigh of relief after a tense, years-long legal battle.

\"I was quite relieved knowing that I won't receive an order for deportation in the mail anytime soon,\" said Eduardo Zarate, 20, a junior at Wyoming University in Jackson. \"More importantly, I was very relieved knowing that I'm able to continue my education without worrying about deportation.\"

Luis Zuluaga, a 23-year-old DACA recipient from Colombia and recent college graduate, said the fight for \"Dreamers\" is once again a political one.

\"This country hasn't gone anywhere near solving its immigration problem. This is just another Band-Aid, which is nice for the moment but it's not enough,\" he said.

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