His predecessor Democrat Barack Obama decided in 2012 to lift the threat of expulsion weighing on these young nicknamed "dreamers" and grant them the right to work, study or drive.
In 2017, his Republican successor, who made the fight against illegal immigration one of his hobby horses, decided to put an end to this program dubbed DACA, decreeing it "illegal".
Courts have suspended its decision, offering the Dreamers a break, but the government has appealed to the highest court.
Just before the hearing, Donald Trump stuck to his position, assuring that Barack Obama was "not allowed" to sign the DACA program. However, he said he was ready to talk to the opposition so that these young people could "stay" in the United States if the high court proved him right.
It will not make its decision until 2020, in full election year. If it sounded the death knell of the DACA program, the hundreds of thousands of Dreamers would not be immediately expelled, but would fall back into a very precarious legal and administrative situation.
Meanwhile, "we are like on a roller coaster," assured AFP Angelica Villalobos, whose name appears in the procedure.
The 34-year-old Mexican spoke to her five children about "possible consequences" of the Supreme Court ruling: "Maybe we will not be able to work or drive anymore, all of those things that make us a normal family. . "
Beyond the Dreamers, many sectors of the American society will be impacted if they lose their protections, Judge Stephen Breyer noted during the hearing, by listing the organizations "of the medical sector, of the education, of the humanitarian, construction, religious or municipal "supporting them in the proceedings.
The other progressive judges, like him, seemed disconcerted by the decision of the republican administration to penalize individuals "who have not committed any crime, who work, pay taxes".
"I have trouble understanding how DACA is illegal (...) It's not about rights, it's about destroying lives," said Sonia Sotomayor. Their presence serves a lot of interests, she continued, "even the president says he'll find a way for them to stay here!"
The tenant of the White House blows hot and cold on the Dreamers, who enjoy a relatively good image in the population.
"Many of the beneficiaries of DACA, plus all young people, are far from being + + angels. Some are hardened criminals, "he tweeted on Tuesday, while promising to find a solution so they can stay on American soil.
It is this ambiguity that is at the heart of the matter.
US administrative law requires the executive to justify its decisions in a "rational" manner. However, the courts have so far held that the Republican administration made a decision "arbitrary and capricious".
The end of the DACA program is likely to "cause significant disruption to the lives of 700,000 people, their families, their communities, their employers," said Dreamers' lawyer Theodore Olson.
To make such a decision, "we must give solid reasons," he continued, reproaching the government for sheltering behind an "erroneous" pretext.
State representative Noel Francisco countered that the administration simply could not "maintain an illegal policy". He also argued that the judiciary was incompetent because of the "discretionary" power of the executive.
His arguments seemed to appeal to conservative judges of the Court, who have been in the majority since the election of Donald Trump according to the reports published in news10.com.
Judge Neil Gorsuch asked "why" the government's explanations were "insufficient"? "What is missing" in the justifications of the administration ?, added Brett Kavanaugh.
The case is also "of great importance to the powers of the president," Steven Schwinn, a law professor at the University of Chicago, said before the debate. In its judgment, the Court could indeed extend the discretionary powers of the tenant of the White House by allowing him to make or undo a policy without explanation.
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