Trump appeals judge's ruling on young immigrants

FILE - In this Dec. 15, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump, left, sits with Attorney General Jeff Sessions during the FBI National Academy graduation ceremony in Quantico, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE - In this Dec. 15, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump, left, sits with Attorney General Jeff Sessions during the FBI National Academy graduation ceremony in Quantico, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

SAN FRANCISCO -- President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday appealed a judge's ruling temporarily blocking its decision to end protections for hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants and announced plans to seek a U.S. Supreme Court review even before an appeals court issues a decision.

Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice said in a court filing that they were appealing the Jan. 9 ruling by a federal judge preventing Trump from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

The appeal was filed with the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In a separate news release, the agency said it planned to file documents seeking a review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

[U.S. immigration: Data visualization of selected immigration statistics, U.S. border map]

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement that it defied "law and common sense" for a single federal judge to decide the deferred-action issue.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup in his Jan. 9 ruling said lawyers in favor of deferred action clearly demonstrated that the young immigrants "were likely to suffer serious, irreparable harm" without court action.

The judge also said the lawyers have a strong chance of succeeding at trial.

He granted a request by California and other plaintiffs for a preliminary injunction against the administration while lawsuits challenging its deferred-action decision play out in court. Alsup also rejected the administration's request to dismiss the lawsuits.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement Tuesday that he was "confident the appellate courts will see the logic and justice behind the district court's issuance of the preliminary injunction."

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals has protected about 800,000 people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas.

The program includes hundreds of thousands of college-age students.

Sessions announced in September that the program would be phased out, saying President Barack Obama had exceeded his authority when he implemented it in 2012.

Efforts in Congress to reach a deal to protect deferred-action recipients appear to have gotten more complicated in the wake of Trump's use of a vulgarity during a meeting with lawmakers last week to discuss an immigration proposal.

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