(CNN) -
A federal judge in Texas ruled Friday that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the Obama-era program (known as DACA) that protects certain undocumented immigrants from deportation, is illegal, and thus blocked new applicants.
Judge Andrew Hanen's ruling would bar future applications, but it does not immediately cancel current permits for hundreds of thousands of people.
The long-awaited ruling throws another hurdle on the DACA program, which President Joe Biden vowed to strengthen, and adds urgency to legislation to legalize the program's recipients.
READ: What is DACA: the program that protects “dreamers” from deportation
DACA
