Washington - A US judge
blocked President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday from
ending a programme that shielded from deportation children brought
to the United States illegally by their parents.
Trump decided in September to rescind the Deferred Action
for Childhood Arrivals programme, or DACA. US District Judge
William Alsup ruled in San Francisco on Tuesday the programme must
remain in place while litigation over Trump's decision unfolds.
The ruling came as Trump and US congressional leaders
negotiated broad immigration reforms.
Alsup's decision follows on from stands taken by other US judges to rein in Trump's immigration policies, striking down
moves against sanctuary cities and limiting the scope of a ban
against travel from some Muslim-majority counties.
The DACA programme has provided protection from deportation
and the right to work legally to nearly 800,000 young people
since it was authorised by President Barack Obama in 2012.
Several states, organisations and individuals have filed
lawsuits seeking to protect DACA recipients, who are known as
Dreamers.
Alsup said in his ruling the federal government did not have
to process new applications from people who had never before
received protection under the program. However, he ordered the
government to process renewal applications people who had
previously been covered.
"DACA gave them a more tolerable set of choices, including
joining the mainstream workforce," Alsup wrote. "Now, absent an
injunction, they will slide back to the pre-DACA era and
associated hardship."
A Department of Homeland Security spokesman declined to
comment, and representatives for the White House and the
Department of Justice could not be reached immediately for
comment.
Trump ran on a hardline immigration platform during the 2016
presidential election, promising to end DACA and strengthen
border protections to increase jobs for US workers.