A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program on Tuesday, declaring that the Department of Homeland Security’s “decision to rescind DACA was based on a flawed legal premise."
U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled the Obama-era program must remain in place while litigation plays out.
Alsup, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, also said the program should continue, allowing those already approved for the program to renew their DACA protections and work permits.
New applications will not be allowed to be submitted under the ruling, however.
"Dreamers' lives were thrown into chaos when the Trump Administration tried to terminate the DACA program without obeying the law," said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. "Today's ruling is a huge step in the right direction."
"America is and has been home to Dreamers who courageously came forward, applied for DACA and did everything the federal government asked of them," he added. "They followed DACA's rules, they succeeded in school, at work and in business, and they have contributed in building a better America. We will fight at every turn for their rights and opportunities so they may continue to contribute to America."
But the Department of Justice said the ruling doesn’t change the facts about the program.
"DACA was implemented unilaterally after Congress declined to extend these benefits to this same group of illegal aliens. As such, it was an unlawful circumvention of Congress, and was susceptible to the same legal challenges that effectively ended DAPA," the DOJ said in a statement.
During Tuesday’s bipartisan immigration meeting, President Trump said he would support a plan those in the room came up with, adding that he'd be open to taking on his political base in order to support a bipartisan agreement.
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“I’ll take the heat off both the Democrats and the Republicans,” he said.
UPDATE: The White House and President Trump blasted the judge's ruling.
"We find this decision to be outrageous, especially in light of the President's successful bipartisan meeting with House and Senate members at the White House on the same day," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.
"An issue of this magnitude must go through the normal legislative process," she added. "President Trump is committed to the rule of law, and will work with members of both parties to reach a permanent solution that corrects the unconstitutional actions taken by the last administration."
Trump also weighed in.
"It just shows everyone how broken and unfair our Court System is when the opposing side in a case (such as DACA) always runs to the 9th Circuit and almost always wins before being reversed by higher courts," he said on Twitter.
It just shows everyone how broken and unfair our Court System is when the opposing side in a case (such as DACA) always runs to the 9th Circuit and almost always wins before being reversed by higher courts.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018
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