(CNN) US Citizenship and Immigration Services on Wednesday refused to answer a series of questions from lawmakers over its decision to no longer consider non-military requests for deferred action -- temporary relief from deportation -- citing ongoing litigation.

The repeated denials to provide answers drew criticism from Democratic lawmakers, who have expressed outrage over the policy change.

"You can't tell me why there's a new policy, you can't tell me what motivated the new policy, and you can't tell me what the new policy is," said Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, the chairman of the House Oversight Civil Rights and Civil Liberties subcommittee. "Is that a correct assessment of the situation?"

"That is my testimony, sir, yes," said Daniel Renaud, associate director at USCIS' Field Operations Directorate. Renaud noted during the hearing that his responses were based on the advice of counsel.

Last month, USCIS sent letters to family members who had requested relief from deportation, saying the agency's field offices "no longer consider requests for deferred action," except for certain military exceptions. The agency said it would defer to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to determine if nonmilitary issues "warrant deferred action," according to a spokesperson. ICE has discretion to determine who will and won't be arrested or deported.

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