As the prospect of a long-term immigration deal for young people who were brought to the country illegally as children dwindles, the Justice Department is appealing a court ruling that blocked the Trump administration from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
The department says it will take "the rare step" later this week of filing a petition asking the Supreme Court to intervene.
A federal judge in California temporarily blocked the Trump administration's decision to end DACA earlier this month. The ruling required the Department of Homeland Security to resume accepting renewal requests from eligible DACA applicants, at least until lawsuits can play out in court.
But in a statement Tuesday Attorney General Jeff Sessions said "it defies both law and common sense" for the DACA program to be mandated nationwide by a single judge in San Francisco.