A United States judge in San Francisco on Tuesday temporarily barred the Donald Trump administration from ending a programme that protects young people brought to the United States illegally by their parents from deportation, Reuters reported.
The Trump administration had announced in September 2017 that it would cancel the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, programme. Subsequently, the decision was challenged in several federal courts. As many as 11 states had threatened to sue President Donald Trump if he rescinded the programme.
On Tuesday, District Judge William Alsup ruled that the DACA programme must remain in place until the federal cases were resolved. He said that the programme protected 7,00,000 people, known as Dreamers, from deportation.
Alsup ruled that the federal government must continue to process renewal applications from people who were covered under DACA, but it did not have to accept new applications.
US Justice Department Spokesperson Devin O’Malley said the order does not affect the department’s position on the issue. The department “will continue to vigorously defend this position [of deporting children of illegal immigrants],” he added.
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