In a victory for Dreamers nationwide, a San Francisco judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration’s rescinding of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, ordering the administration to resume accepting DACA applications as the underlying case continues in federal court. A federal judge in California ordered the Trump administration on Tuesday to keep in place the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects undocumented immigrants who entered the country as children from deportation and allows them to work legally, while a lawsuit proceeds. According to NBC News, Alsup chastised DHS for failing to present any analysis of the damage its order would do to the hundreds of thousands of Dreamers in the country, and he called the government’s argument that the DHS does not and did not have the right to run the program “arbitrary” and “capricious.”

A Justice Department spokesperson said Tuesday after the ruling that the agency still believes it has the power to end the program, which it considers illegal overreach by the previous administration, according to the Associated Press. Becerra — joined by the attorney generals for Maine, Maryland, and Minnesota; the University of California; Santa Clara County; the city of San Jose, individual Dreamers and other plaintiffs — filed a lawsuit against the administration in November, arguing that ending the program caused irreparable harm to DACA recipients and the states in which they live. The DACA recipients would suffer irreparable harm if the program is allowed to end, he added, saying the move “would tear authorized workers from our nation’s economy and would prejudice their being able to support themselves and their families, not to mention paying taxes to support our nation.”

“Tonight’s ruling is a huge step in the right direction,” said California Atty.
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California issues a nationwide injunction blocking the rescission of the DACA program, ordering the Trump administration to restart and maintain the program as the legal challenge(s) to the president's decision go forward.