U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, appointed by former President Ronald Reagan, signed the temporary restraining order on Thursday to block Trump’s action. Coughenour’s decision just days after a number of states, including New Jersey, sued the Trump administration over the move.

Donald Trump's administration has reassigned about 20 senior career Justice Department attorneys, two sources familiar with the moves told Reuters, as the new president moves swiftly to shake up an arm of government that has long drawn his ire.

The Justice Department is directing its federal prosecutors to investigate any state or local officials who stand in the way of beefed-up enforcement of immigration laws under the Trump administration.

A memo from the acting deputy attorney general instructs officials to identify state and local laws and policies that “threaten to impede” the Trump administration's immigration efforts.