A Louisiana immigration court rebuffed the government’s efforts this week to deport an undocumented immigrant who came to the attention of authorities after raising questions about workplace safety issues.

On Tuesday, attorneys representing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) asked a New Orleans immigration court to begin proceedings against Josue Diaz, a Mexican-born undocumented immigrant, and three of his former coworkers. Instead, after hearing arguments from the government and attorneys representing Diaz and his former colleagues, the judge rescheduled the matter for March 2013 and ordered ICE to reconsider its position.

Diaz, part of the so-called “Southern 32,” received national attention when immigration authorities noticed him and the other men after they exposed possible civil rights violations and workplace wrongdoing — including safety violations and problems receiving pay.

Diaz’s attorney Jennifer Rosenbaum, who is also legal director at the New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice, argued in court that he should be considered a low-priority case, based on a new immigration policy that protects whistleblowers from deportation.

Read the full story at The Huffington Post