A US appeals court found unconstitutional a program on Wednesday that protects migrants brought to the nation as youngsters but allowed it to continue for current recipients.

The result upholds a federal judge's order to limit the program in July 2021. The judgment on Wednesday permits approximately 600,000 current enrollees to keep their status but continues to unjustly bar new applicants.

The policy of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is now being reviewed by a lower court. DACA recipients are referred to as "Dreamers".

Read next: Dozens of migrant children reported missing in Houston: Reuters

US President Joe Biden expressed his disappointment with the ruling, which he said means "the lives of Dreamers remain in limbo."

"Today's decision is the result of continued efforts by Republican state officials to strip DACA recipients of the protections and work authorization that many have now held for over a decade," he said in a statement.

"It is long past time for Congress to pass permanent protections for Dreamers, including a pathway to citizenship."

In a statement, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he is reviewing the ruling and would work with the Department of Justice on a legal response.

DACA, established by then-President Barack Obama in 2012, covers around 700,000 people, granting them legal status, as well as the opportunity to work. 

Read next: Biden Pledges to Appeal Ruling against DACA Immigration Program

In 2017, then-President Donald Trump attempted to repeal DACA, claiming that Obama had exceeded his constitutional authority. DACA recipients were granted a temporary respite in June 2020 when the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Trump administration had failed to give a sufficient rationale for its efforts to stop the program.

It was obvious that it was ruling primarily on procedural matters, and it left the door open for additional challenges.

DACA was later reinstated, and Biden has worked to expand the program, as well as pursue broader immigration reform since taking office.

Read next: Trump's border wall construction back on track under Joe Biden

However, in July 2021, Texas-based Judge Andrew Hanen ruled that Obama overstepped his jurisdiction by instituting DACA via administrative order. He described the directive as "illegal".

The ruling was appealed by the Biden administration. In addition, in August, the Department of Homeland Security adopted a final rule to codify the program and shield it from legal challenges.

In its judgment on Wednesday, the appeals court stated that it lacked sufficient information to rule on the August regulation, which is slated to go into force on October 31.

"The legal questions that DACA presents are serious, both to the parties and to the public," the three-judge panel wrote in the ruling. "In our view, the defendants have not shown that there is a likelihood that they will succeed on the merits."

Democrats in Congress have also campaigned for legislation to permanently resolve the status of young arrivals, but immigration laws have long been blocked due to Republican resistance.

'Political pawns'

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on September 15 that Republican governors sending migrants to northern cities such as New York, Washington, and Chicago, are using migrants as "political pawns".

"Republican governors interfering in that [US immigration] process and using migrants as political pawns is shameful, is reckless, and just plain wrong," Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing.

"It is indeed a political play," she said. "It is endangering people's lives and it is inhumane. It is taking away people's dignity." "It's shameful and we should call it out," she said.

In April, Texas Governor Greg Abbott launched a program that is part of the governor’s Operation Lone Star initiative, intended to slow the number of migrants crossing the border.

Since then, more than 10,000 undocumented migrants from Texas and Arizona have been relocated by bus for free to cities such as New York, Washington, and Chicago.

Read next: 46 migrants found dead in tractor-trailer in Texas