A judge for the US District Court for the Central District of California on Monday banned [order] the Trump administration from revoking an Obama-era deportation protections program for immigrants that were brought to the country illegally as children.

This ruling follows a lawsuit that was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Southern California on behalf of a nationwide class of young immigrants who alleged that “their permission to live in the United States and employment authorization [have been] arbitrarily stripped away … since President Trump took office, without any notice, reasoned explanation, or opportunity to be heard”.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals allowed [AP report] immigrants to live and work in the US as long as they did not commit serious crimes. However, the lawsuit alleged that the government was removing immigrants from the program even if they were never convicted of any crimes. This led to deportation proceedings and work permits being stripped away.

US District Court Judge Philip Gutierrez reinstated the DACA grants and work permits of members who have had them revoked. Katrina Eiland, a staff attorney for the ACLU said [press release] that “This ruling is a critical victory for young immigrants and their families across United States. The court’s order ensures that Dreamers won’t have their ability to live and work in the country they call home taken from them arbitrarily.”