The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted the Trump administration’s request to expedite briefs in its appeal of a lower court judge’s ruling that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program must remain in place.

Opponents will file briefs by Feb. 2, the court said.

Justices must still decide whether to hear the case, however.

A federal judge in San Francisco earlier this month issued a ruling blocking the Trump administration from ending DACA, which protects undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

President Trump Donald John TrumpUS reimposes UN sanctions on Iran amid increasing tensions Jeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Trump supporters chant 'Fill that seat' at North Carolina rally MORE announced last year he was ending the program.

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The Department of Justice last week appealed the judge's decision and asked the Supreme Court to bypass a 9th Circuit Court ruling in order to resolve the case more quickly, arguing it is of public importance.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsTrump's policies on refugees are as simple as ABCs Ocasio-Cortez, Velázquez call for convention to decide Puerto Rico status White House officials voted by show of hands on 2018 family separations: report MORE has questioned the legality of the lower court’s ruling, and he called the decision to go directly to the Supreme Court a “rare step.”

DACA has been at the forefront of recent immigration discussions on Capitol Hill, with Democrats opting to shut down the government Friday rather than sign a short-term funding bill devoid of protections for DACA recipients.

Trump called on Congress to craft a “bill of love” to address DACA.

However, some lawmakers have complained that the president hasn’t given a clear position on the issue, making it difficult to pass legislation.