A federal appeals court on Friday rejected an Obama-era policy that protected immigrants who arrived in the country illegally as children. This decision came just three days before Donald Trump, who has promised mass deportations, takes office.

Two judges appointed by Republican presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush and one by Democrat Barack Obama made up the unanimous ruling of the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. This is the latest setback for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, whose recipients have been in legal limbo for over ten years. This means that there won't be any immediate changes for the more than 500,000 people who benefit from it. They can still renew their temporary permits to live and work in the United States. However, the federal government will not accept any new applications, which will result in a smaller and older group of recipients over time.

The decision could lead to the policy being taken to the Supreme Court for a third time. During his first term, Trump tried to end DACA, though he sometimes showed support for allowing those covered by it to stay.

DACA was introduced by Obama in 2012, due to Congress not passing laws that would provide a path to legal status for people brought to the US as children. This led to legal challenges, including two trips to the Supreme Court. In this most recent instance, the rule was updated by President Joe Biden in 2022. Although it was open to public comment as part of a formal rule-making process meant to increase its chances of passing legal muster, it was not a significant departure from the 2012 memo that established DACA.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in Houston stated that the executive branch had exceeded its authority and stopped the government from approving new applications. However, he allowed current beneficiaries to keep their status while the case is being appealed in court.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who led the challenge for Republican-led states, called the ruling on Friday a significant win. Paxton expressed his excitement about collaborating with President-elect Donald Trump to restore the rule of law and put an end to the illegal immigration epidemic. A message requesting response late Friday was not immediately answered by the US Homeland Security Department. In 2016, with one vacancy on the Supreme Court, the justices were split 4-4 on whether to expand DACA and create a version for parents of DACA recipients. As a result, a lower court's decision to block the benefits remained in effect. Then, in 2020, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Trump administration ended DACA incorrectly because it didn't follow the proper federal procedures, allowing DACA to continue.