WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. federal judge on Friday ruled that the Trump administration must reinstate a program preventing the deportation of those brought to the country illegally as children.

U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington D.C. said that he would allow the administration to appeal until Aug. 23.

Bates first issued a ruling in April ordering the federal government to keep the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program introduced by the Obama administration in 2012.

Last fall, the Trump administration proposed to phase out the program that protected roughly 700,000 young immigrants, often referred to as "Dreamers," from being deported and allowed them to study and work in the country.

The efforts have met with legal and political challenges.

Bates gave the administration 90 days to better explain why the program should be ended. On Friday, the judge said he would not revise his previous ruling, adding that his concerns were not overridden by arguments of the federal government.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday that the federal government would continue to defend its position that it "acted within its lawful authority in deciding to wind down DACA in an orderly manner."

Trump has said he would support DACA legislation if lawmakers agree to fund construction of his long-promised border wall on the southern U.S. border with Mexico and overhaul the current immigration system.

U.S. Congress has failed to pass legislation to address the DACA program and the fate of Dreamers.