Judge: Keep Jessica Colotl’s DACA status in place

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.

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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.”