The Department of Justice is condemning a judge’s ruling that blocks the Trump administration from ending protections for 300,000 immigrants living and working in the United States.
A federal judge in San Francisco issued a temporary injunction Wednesday that bars the administration from ending a program that allowed people from Haiti, Sudan, Nicaragua and El Salvador to stay in the U.S. temporarily.
The ruling comes in a lawsuit that contends the administration improperly changed the rules for the program out of racism.
DOJ spokesman Devin O’Malley says the ruling “usurps the role of the executive branch” and the administration did nothing improper.
In the ruling, Judge Edward Chen said ending the protections could cause great suffering and harm to families. He also said there’s evidence that President Donald Trump harbors animus toward non-white aliens. He cited Trump’s remarks disparaging Mexicans, Muslims and certain nations.
