Last-minute Trump rules on deportations blocked by federal judge in S.F. FacebookTwitterEmail U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detain a man during an operation in Escondido ( San Diego County) in 2019. A federal judge has blocked Trump administration rules that made it harder to challenge deportation orders in San Francisco.Gregory Bull / Associated Press 2019 Eleventh-hour rules by Trump administration immigration officials that made it harder to challenge deportation orders have been blocked by a federal judge in San Francisco, who said the restrictions could force migrants to face persecution in their homelands. The rules, which took effect Jan. 15, included substantial reductions in the time allowed to appeal a judge’s deportation ruling. Immigration judges were barred from putting cases on hold to allow time for more investigation or negotiations. Immigration appeals courts were given more latitude to uphold deportation orders, and the Justice Department official who oversees those courts was granted authority to remove many cases from the courts and decide them himself.