A federal judge in California has temporarily blocked the government from immediately deporting migrant families after they’ve been reunited, and lawyers for the government said it was unclear how the pause will impact ongoing reunifications.

The American Civil Liberties Union had asked the judge to make the government wait for at least a week before deporting reunited families. A lawyer for the government said it is opposed to the ACLU's motion.

At a court hearing Monday, the judge paused deportations of reunified families and gave the government a week to explain why it shouldn’t have to wait.

A government lawyer said toward the end of the hearing it was unclear if the court-ordered pause would cause reunifications to slow. The judge said a slow-down of the process is not an option, and reunifications should continue under the government's new plan submitted over the weekend.

The judge praised the revised plan that’s designed to reunify large numbers of kids and parents every day.

The government faces a July 26 deadline to complete reunifications.