ATLANTA – A federal judge is giving the U.S. government a Tuesday evening deadline to reinstate the immigration status of 133 current and former college students who would have had to cease attending classes and holding jobs after they lost their Student and Exchange Visitor Program status for no apparent reason.

A lawyer for the students and recent graduates argued at a hearing last week in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia that they faced irreparable harm, including deportation and the risk of not earning degrees they had paid for.

Meanwhile, a lawyer for the office of Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr., argued the government would face irreparable harm if the judge ordered that the students’ status be reinstated, because it would “interfere with the executive’s right to control immigration,” meaning President Donald Trump.

Judge Victoria Marie Calvert sided with the students, issuing a temporary restraining order against the Trump administration late Friday and requiring that the students’ status under the visitor program be restored by 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The balance of harm weighs with the plaintiffs, she wrote in her order, as they risked losing their lawful status, their access to education, and their future career prospects. She noted that Assistant U.S. Attorney R. David Powell had asserted in a hearing Thursday that the revocation of the students’ visitor status did not necessarily reflect whether they had lawful nonimmigrant status. So restoring their status would have no effect on the government’s control over immigration, she wrote in her order.

The students’ lawyer, Charles Kuck, had said in court that his clients were not told why their status was revoked, and he asked for the restraining order to provide time to seek clarity with the government.

Calvert agreed, writing that “there is substantial public interest in ensuring government agencies abide by federal laws.”

The judge has scheduled another hearing for Thursday, when both sides will argue over whether the judge should next issue a preliminary injunction on the students’ status.

Akiva Freidlin, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, hailed the temporary restraining order as a rebuke against the way Trump has implemented his immigration policies.

“The Constitution protects everyone on American soil, so the Trump administration cannot ignore due process to unjustifiably threaten students with the loss of immigration status, and arrest and deportation,” she said. “We believe this ruling shows the students are likely to prevail on their claims and we are pleased the court ordered the government to halt its unlawful actions while the lawsuit continues.”