A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that President Trump cannot immediately end the program that shields from deportation young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children.
The unanimous decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit makes it more likely that the Supreme Court will settle the question.
The Trump administration has asked the justices to add it to the docket for this term.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was begun in 2012 by President Barack Obama and has protected nearly 700,000 people brought to this country as children.
The Trump administration moved to end the program in 2017 after Texas and other states threatened to sue to force an end to the program. Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions advised the Department of Homeland Security to end the program, saying it was probably unlawful and that it could not be defended in court.
But a number of courts around the country have ruled that the administration’s reasoning was incorrect and kept the program in place.
Like the other courts, the panel did not question the administration’s power but faulted its approach.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration announced a plan today to dramatically cut back immigrants’ ability to request asylum in the USA, a direct challenge to federal law and international conventions that the president said is necessary to stop an immigrant caravan slowly making its way to the U.S.-Mexican border.
Immigrants are allowed to request asylum whether they present themselves at ports of entry or sidestep those ports and illegally enter the country.
The rules proposed by the administration would bar those who enter illegally from making an asylum claim and place them into expedited deportation proceedings instead.
Several groups have already filed lawsuits in California and the District of Columbia challenging the administration’s actions to limit asylum.
Thursday’s announcement will add to the litigation, which could be decided by a Supreme Court that includes two Trump appointees.
The Trump administration expects to win at the Supreme Court with Justice Brett Kavanaugh now on the Supreme Court.
Kavanaugh, who took the spot of the more moderate Justice Anthony Kennedy, is known for his conservative opinions that often side with the executive branch’s assertion of power.