Justices to decide 6 immigration cases

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court decisions in a half-dozen cases dealing with immigration over the next two months are being watched for indications of how the justices might evaluate President Donald Trump’s actions on immigration, especially stepped-up deportations.

Some of those cases could be decided as early as today, when the court is meeting to issue opinions in cases that were argued over the past six months.

The outcomes could indicate whether the justices are retreating from long-standing decisions that give the president and Congress great discretion in dealing with immigration.

Two of the immigration cases at the court offer the justices the possibility of cutting into the deference that courts have given the other branches of government in this area. One case is a class-action lawsuit brought by immigrants who’ve spent long periods in custody, including many who are legal residents of the United States or are seeking asylum.

In the other case, the court has taken on a challenge to a federal law that makes it easier for a child born outside the United States to become a citizen if his mother is an American and harder if his father is the U.S. citizen.