A federal judge in Atlanta has for a second time ordered the Trump administration to keep in place a temporary reprieve from deportation for Jessica Colotl, the Norcross woman who has become a flashpoint in the national debate over illegal immigration.

In his ruling issued Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Cohen said the Mexican native’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status will remain in effect pending his decision on the government’s request to dismiss her lawsuit. Cohen, nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama, has set a hearing on the government’s motion for Nov. 9.

IN-DEPTH: Trump administration strips Georgia woman of reprieve from deportation

RELATED: Judge: Reinstate Jessica Colotl’s reprieve from deportation 

Cohen’s ruling follows U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ decision last week to deny the Kennesaw State University graduate’s request to renew her DACA status. USCIS told her U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is seeking to deport her. Colotl’s DACA status was set to expire Tuesday before Cohen issued his decision.

ICE declined to comment on Cohen’s ruling. In its Oct. 23 letter to Colotl, USCIS told her “that you have not demonstrated that you warrant a favorable exercise of prosecutorial discretion.”

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The Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia’s day-to-day decisions are made by Pete Skandalakis, the executive director, who served as DA for the Coweta Judicial Circuit for more than 25 years. (Natrice Miller/AJC 2022)

Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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