New London — Attorney Rita Provatas said her clients who hoped to file applications under President Obama's new deferred-deportation program on Wednesday are upset by suspension of the initiative on the eve of its launch after a ruling by a U.S. District Court judge in Texas created a roadblock.

"It is extremely disappointing," said Provatas. "These are people who have been waiting for years for something like this."

Provatas, who specializes in immigration and nationality matters, said she was prepared to file applications Wednesday on behalf of about 20 clients who hoped to take advantage of the expansion of a 2012 program that would defer deportations of immigrants who came to the United States illegally as children.

"These are kids who have been brought up here for eight, nine, 10 years," she said. "They have grown up in our school system. They feel more American than they do foreign. This is no fault of their own."

Under the Obama initiative, announced last November as an "immigration accountability executive action," there would be an expansion of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and work authorization from two to three years.

While DACA is not a path to legalization, proponents say it has helped more than 500,000 eligible young people move into mainstream life since it was adopted in 2012. Through his 2014 executive order, the president hoped to expand the program while Congress works to adopt immigration reform.

Under the proposal now postponed, the age ceiling would be eliminated and the deferment opportunity extended to individuals who began residing in the U.S. prior to Jan. 1, 2010.

Provatas said she was not surprised by the ruling of the federal judge in Texas, but disappointed for her clients.

Another component of Obama's executive order, creation of a new deferred action program for parents, called DAPA (Deferred Action for Parental Accountability) and slated to start in mid-May, is also being postponed. Provatas said she has a number of clients interested in that program, too.

"Since 2001, there has been no comprehensive immigration reform, and since that time people eligible for DAPA and DACA have been sitting around and waiting," Provatas said.

The point of the executive orders, she said, was to expand use of deferred action to provide temporary protection from removal for millions of unauthorized immigrants until Congress adopts its own immigration plan.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal is also troubled by the judge's ruling.

"This federal trial court order blocking the president's immigration directives is deeply and destructively wrong, and should be reversed immediately. It betrays a strong potential bias against the president's action," said Blumenthal, who met with immigration advocates in New Haven Wednesday for a roundtable discussion on the Texas court ruling.

"... This ruling is deeply flawed and should be immediately overturned. Whatever the legal outcome, Congress must act to correct our failed immigration system," Blumenthal said.

Michael T. Doyle, an immigration attorney working in New London with a number of DAPA clients, also he said he was disappointed.

"Comprehensive immigration reform could be the ultimate solution. We've always believed that's what should happen in the long run," he said.

Obama's executive orders, he said, were intended to provoke action.

"The issue is divisive and sensitive," Doyle said. "There will be winners and losers across the board. But if this is the tool to provoke action, great. Continuing neglect of the issue is the ultimate nightmare."

On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew S. Hanen handed down a decision that concluded the deferred deportation program should not proceed while a lawsuit brought by 26 states is being decided.

The judge did not rule on the constitutionality of the executive order but found merit to block the program until the case is decided.

On Tuesday, Jeh Johnson, Homeland Security secretary, said the administration would postpone the launch of the program that was slated for Wednesday.

Provatas said that most of her clients who planned to file Wednesday are in the 17- to 18-year-old range and that some never knew they were illegal immigrants until they graduated from high school and their parents had to tell them that, without a Social Security card or work authorization papers, it would be difficult to go to college or find a job.

"They get to this dead end," said Provatas. "They go through our school system and then they graduate and have no status because they are illegal. It just makes total sense to legalize these people, allow them to contribute and allow their kids the full benefit of having already received a U.S. education."

a.baldelli@theday.com

Twitter: @annbaldelli