A federal magistrate judge in Manhattan on Wednesday approved extra-record discovery in New York state’s challenge to the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule, which makes it easier for the federal government to deny legal status to immigrants who apply for public assistance.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang of the Southern District of New York said there was a “strong showing” that the federal government had acted in bad faith when it significantly expanded the definition of who could be deemed a burden to the government.