US: Trump blasts court's ruling halting DACA's end

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - President Donald Trump fumed Wednesday at the U.S. judicial system after a judge in San Francisco ordered the administration to halt its plan to rescind a program protecting young undocumented migrants from deportation.

"It just shows everyone how broken and unfair our Court System is when the opposing side in a case (such as DACA) always runs to the 9th Circuit and almost always wins before being reversed by higher courts," Trump said, referring to the west-coast appeals circuit.

Trump ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program last year, citing legal challenges by states, but gave Congress until March to negotiate a deal that would allow "Dreamers" to stay in the U.S. legally.

District Judge William Alsup granted plaintiffs challenging Trump's decision a temporary injunction late Tuesday, halting Trump's effort to roll back DACA while lawsuits brought by the state of California and others played out in court.

In his decision, Alsup called Trump's decision "arbitrary" and "capricious", as well as "an abuse of discretion", and said Attorney General Jeff Sessions' rationale for ending the program "was based on a flawed legal premise".

There are about 780,000 DACA recipients, known as "Dreamers", living in the U.S.

Speaking before the start of a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump said he wants to "see something happen with DACA", but said any bill to extend protections for Dreamers "must improve jobs, wages, and security for American citizens."

Trump said late Tuesday that his support for any DACA deal is contingent on the bill including funding for his long-promised barrier along the U.S.'s southern border with Mexico.

He has long insisted Mexico would pay of the wall, but Mexican officials have incredulously dismissed the notion.

The White House has maintained that Trump is still intent on getting Mexico to foot the bill for the structure.