By Jan Wolfe

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. judge rejected on Monday a Trump administration challenge to a New York law that blocks immigration officials from arresting individuals at, or near, state courthouses.

Republican President Donald Trump has stepped up immigration enforcement in Democratic-led cities, such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., in his bid to deport record numbers of immigrants without legal status.

In a 41-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Mae D’Agostino dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit that sought to block a 2020 state law known as the Protect Our Courts Act.

The lawsuit, filed in June, said it violated the “supremacy clause,” a constitutional provision by which federal law supersedes conflicting state laws.

D’Agostino rejected that argum

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