SAN DIEGO (AP) — A judge allowed a lawsuit challenging U.S. immigration authorities for separating parents from their children to go forward on Wednesday but said he would decide later whether or not to order a nationwide halt.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw said the lawsuit involving a 7-year-old girl who was separated from her Congolese mother and a 14-year-old boy who was separated from his Brazilian mother could proceed on a claim that their constitutional rights to a fair hearing were denied. He said he would issue separate rulings on the American Civil Liberties Union’s request for a nationwide injunction and to expand the lawsuit to apply to all parents and children who are split up by border authorities.

ADVERTISEMENT

Sabraw, an appointee of President George W. Bush, said the allegations “describe government conduct that arbitrarily tears at the sacred bond between parent and child.”

“Such conduct, if true, as it is assumed to be on the present motion, is brutal, offensive, and fails to comport with traditional notions of fair play and decency,” he wrote.

Splitting families has emerged as a high-profile and highly controversial practice since Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a “zero tolerance” policy at the border in early May. Any adult who enters the country illegally is criminally prosecuted, even if it means separating parents from children.

The zero-tolerance policy has thrust family separation to the forefront of a national divide over illegal immigration. Critics call it cruel and inhumane, while administration officials argue it is an unwanted but necessary step to end what they describe as a border crisis.

The policy targets people with few or no previous offenses for illegally entering the country. First-time offenders face up to six months in prison, though they often spend only a few days in custody after pleading guilty and exposing themselves to more serious charges if they are caught again.