After a federal judge in California ruled that the Trump administration cannot end DACA, the DOJ has decided to skip the normal appeals process and ask the Supreme Court directly to go ahead and hear the case. The Supreme Court has agreed, in part, to at least fast track the process:

USA TODAY – The justices agreed Tuesday to decide quickly whether to hear the Trump administration’s appeal of a federal district court’s order to restart the DACA program without waiting for an appeals court ruling.

By setting up a fast track for both sides to submit court papers, the high court likely will consider the Justice Department’s request at its Feb. 16 conference. If it decides to take the case, it could hear arguments in the spring.

That would set up a simultaneous decision-making process on the fate of some 690,000 young adults brought to the United States illegally by their parents under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program established by President Barack Obama in 2012.

The Supreme Court’s involvement is unusual because U.S. District Judge William Alsup’s decision usually would go first to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit — a predominately liberal court that has ruled consistently against the administration on immigration issues.

The Justice Department last week appealed to both courts, which Attorney General Jeff Sessions acknowledged was a “rare step.” In the meantime, it did not ask either court to block Alsup’s ruling from taking effect, allowing Dreamers to submit renewal applications for protection from deportation.