Donald Trump’s fight against ‘Dreamers’ dealt another blow by New York judge

Chad Wolf, the acting homeland security chief, had his plans to limit DACA rejected by a New York judge on Saturday

Donald Trump’s efforts to end an Obama-era programme for young migrants brought to the United States as children was dealt another blow on Saturday when a federal judge in New York ruled that efforts to suspend it were invalid.

Judge Nicholas Garaufis wrote that Chad Wolf, the acting secretary for the department of homeland security (DHS), had unlawfully assumed his position, because the DHS did not follow the legitimate order of succession when he was promoted to the role.

In July Mr Wolf issued a memo saying that new applications for DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, would not be accepted and renewals would be limited to one year instead of two.

Mr Garaufis ruled that Mr Wolf had no authority to issue the ruling, and struck down his plan.

"DHS failed to follow the order of succession as it was lawfully designated," he wrote.  "Therefore, the actions taken by purported Acting Secretaries, who were not properly in their roles according to the lawful order of succession, were taken without legal authority."

"Dreamers" are pictured at an annual protest on the US-Mexico border in 2017

Mr Wolf’s appointment has not been confirmed by the Senate, which is causing headaches for the administration.

Mr Garaufis said that they will now hold court conferences to work out details of his ruling; the Trump administration can appeal.

An estimated 800,000 young people known as Dreamers are currently beneficiaries of the scheme, introduced by Barack Obama by executive order in 2012.

Mr Obama’s critics argue that, because it did not receive congressional approval, it is an illegitimate policy that encourages illegal immigration. Supporters of the scheme insist it is a way of enabling educated, lawful young people to work and pay taxes.

Those applicable were brought into the country illegally by their parents, when they were under the age of 16. They must be under the age of 31 by June 15, 2012, when the policy went into effect. And, to qualify, they must be in school, have a high school diploma, or be in the military, and without any criminal convictions.

Their status is renewed every two years.

Karen Tumlin, an attorney who represented a plaintiff in one of two lawsuits that challenged Mr Wolf’s authority, called the ruling "another win for DACA recipients, and those who have been waiting years to apply for the programme for the first time."

The National Immigration Law Center responded to the ruling on Twitter: "VICTORY!"