The U.S. Justice Department announced they will be challenging a ruling that forced the federal government to restart the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that was initially canceled in September 2017, according to Reuters.
On January 9, 2018, a federal judge from California ordered the federal government to once again start accepting applications from immigrants seeking to renew their DACA.
The program was started by former President Barack Obama back in 2012 and allowed young undocumented immigrants a chance to legally work in the United States while avoiding deportation.
President Donald Trump called for the program’s cancellation and in September 2017 the Department of Justice announced they were ending the DACA program.
Several people sued the federal government after the cancellation and District Judge Williams Aslup ordered the program continue during the duration of the lawsuit.
The Trump administration will now ask the United States Supreme Court to decide if that California judge made a mistake in reinstating the program.
There’s currently no timeline if or when the nation’s highest court may take up the case.
Lawmakers are still negotiating a permanent solution for DACA recipients in the form of a new immigration law. Those negotiations have not yielded any concrete deals.