Judge blocks Trump administration's attempt to end Temporary Protected Status for 60,000 migrants

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA: A federal judge in California has voided the Trump administration’s decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 60,000 immigrants from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua.

The ruling blocks a move announced earlier this year by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to end the long-running protections. 

District Court Judge Trina Thompson concluded that the termination process violated federal law and was not based on an objective review of country conditions. The decision restores legal protections and work authorization for affected TPS holders.

Court finds TPS termination unlawful and procedurally flawed

In a summary judgment, Judge Thompson ruled that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unlawfully moved to revoke TPS protections for nationals of Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua.

The judge said that the administration failed to conduct the required objective analysis of conditions in those countries and instead pursued a predetermined outcome.

“Noem’s move ‘was preordained and pre-textual rather than based on an objective review of the country conditions as required by the TPS statute and the (Administrative Procedures Act),’” Thompson wrote.

She added that the record showed that, before taking office, the secretary had already decided to end the protections and “influenced the conditions review process to facilitate TPS terminations for Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal.”

Temporary Protected Status was created by Congress in 1990 and allows the federal government to grant temporary deportation protections and work permits to foreign nationals whose home countries are experiencing armed conflict, environmental disasters or other extraordinary conditions.

DHS announced in June and July that TPS for Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua would be terminated, arguing that those countries had sufficiently recovered from the disasters that initially justified the designations.

Judge Thompson had previously delayed the terminations in July, issuing a preliminary finding that the DHS failed to consider ongoing problems in the three countries and that the decision appeared to be motivated by racial hostility.

That ruling was later paused by an appeals court, allowing the administration to proceed with ending the programs.

The recent summary judgment, however, permanently blocks the terminations unless overturned on appeal.

DHS slams court ruling on TPS terminations 

The Department of Homeland Security sharply criticized the ruling.

In a statement, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the decision “another lawless and activist order from the federal judiciary who continues to usurp the president’s constitutional authority.”

“Under the previous administration, Temporary Protected Status was abused to allow violent t*****ists, criminals, and national security threats into our nation,” McLaughlin said.

“TPS was never designed to be permanent, yet previous administrations have used it as a de facto amnesty program for decades. Given the improved situation in each of these countries, now is the right time to conclude what was always intended to be a temporary designation,” she added.

The Trump administration has sought to dismantle most TPS programs, arguing they encourage illegal immigration and have been improperly extended.

In addition to Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua, the administration has moved to terminate TPS protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Haiti, Myanmar, Sudan, Syria and Venezuela.