A US federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration must fully restore a programme that protects from deportation some young immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children, including accepting new applications for the programme.
US District Judge John Bates in Washington DC said he would stay the order, however, until 23 August to give the administration time to decide whether to appeal.
Judge Bates first issued a ruling in April ordering the federal government to continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, programme, including taking applications.
He stayed that ruling for 90 days to give the government time to better explain why the programme should be ended.
Judge Bates, who was appointed by former US President George W. Bush, said he would not revise his previous ruling because the arguments of President Donald Trump's administration did not override his concerns.
Under DACA, roughly 700,000 young adults, often referred to as "Dreamers", were protected from deportation and given work permits for two-year periods, after which they must re-apply to the programme.
The programme was created in 2012 under former President Barack Obama, but was scrapped by Mr Trump last September.
Two other federal courts in California and New York had previously ordered that DACA remain in place while litigation challenging Mr Trump's decision to end it continued.
Those rulings only required the government to process DACA renewals, not new applications.
Another lawsuit in a Texas federal court is seeking to end DACA.
A spokesman for the US Department of Justice said that the government would continue to defend its position that it "acted within its lawful authority in deciding to wind down DACA in an orderly manner."
Congress so far has failed to pass legislation to address the fate of the children, known as ‘Dreamers’, including a potential path to citizenship.
