A federal judge on Wednesday blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from terminating temporary deportation protections and work permits for more than 6,100 Syrians while a legal challenge proceeds.

U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in Manhattan said the abrupt elimination of temporary protected status for Syrians was likely illegal, agreeing with seven Syrian migrants who had sought to block the policy from taking effect on Friday. They claim the change was arbitrary and motivated by racial animus.

The Trump administration can immediately appeal. Failla, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama, issued the ruling during a virtual court appearance.

Temporary protected status, or TPS, is a humanitarian designation under U.S. law for migrants from countri

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