U.S. appeals court rules against Trump on DACA immigration programme

FILE PHOTO: Supporters of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) hold signs during the Women's March rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 21, 2018. REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo

(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court in California ruled on Thursday that President Donald Trump's administration must continue a programme begun under former President Barack Obama that protects hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who were brought into the country as children.

The decision by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals preserves the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme introduced in 2012 that has shielded from deportation a group of immigrants dubbed "Dreamers" and has given them work permits, though not a path to citizenship.