A federal judge in New York City ruled this Saturday that Chad Wolf was not legally appointed to his position as head of the US Department of Homeland Security and that, therefore,
his decision to suspend is invalid. the DACA program, which protects youth who were brought into the country as children.
The United States Supreme Court had ruled in June that the Donald Trump Administration mistakenly tried to end the protections of former President Barack Obama's program, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
However, on July 28, Wolf suspended the program.
Judge Nicholas Garaufis concluded that the transfer of office between former DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan and Wolf was not carried out in accordance with the law, so that
Wolf did not have legal authority to make decisions.
Karen Tumlin, an attorney in the case and director of the Los Angeles-based Justice Action Center, said the ruling nullifies Wolf's attempt to kill the show.
Thus,
the resolution affects more than a million people
, including the most recent applicants and those seeking to renew protection for two more years.
"This is a really hopeful day for many young people across the country," Tumlin said.
The National Immigration Law Center, for its part, responded to the ruling on Twitter saying: “VICTORY!
A Brooklyn court ruled on our DACA case. "
The organization filed the lawsuit with Make the Road New York and the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic.
“Chad Wolf was not legally complying, and his memo was not legally issued.
We are still reading the opinion and will provide more details soon ”, it is added in the publication.
With information from NBC News.