The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday said it will ask the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling last week that blocked President Donald Trump's move to end a program that protects hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children.

The Trump administration will file an appeal directly with the Supreme Court as well as seeking to appeal to the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the statement said.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham) ((lawrence.hurley@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @lawrencehurley; +1 202-809-3080;))