Ted Olson, conservative stalwart, to represent DREAMers in Supreme Court

The young immigrants known as “Dreamers” have gained an unlikely ally in the Supreme Court.

Theodore B. Olson, who argued for robust executive power in senior Justice Department posts under Republican presidents, will face off against lawyers from President Trump’s Justice Department in a case over Mr. Trump’s efforts to shut down a program that shields some 700,000 young undocumented immigrants from deportation and allows them to work.

In an interview in his office, Mr. Olson said he had generally taken a broad view of presidential authority, particularly in the realm of immigration.

“Executive power is important, and we respect it,” he said. “But it has to be done the right way. It has to be done in an orderly fashion so that citizens can understand what is being done and people whose lives have depended on a governmental policy aren’t swept away arbitrarily and capriciously. And that’s what’s happened here.”