A federal judge temporarily blocked the termination of Temporary Protected Status for over 5,000 Ethiopians, delaying a February 13 deportation deadline.
BOSTON: A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending deportation protections for thousands of Ethiopians living in the United States.
US District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston said he would delay the February 13 effective date of the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for over 5,000 Ethiopians.
The order provides more time for a legal challenge against the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) decision to be heard.
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Judge Murphy, appointed by President Joe Biden, stated an administrative stay would allow DHS time to produce records detailing how it made its decision.
He can then consider whether to block the agency’s action for a longer period.
The US Department of Justice had requested more time to respond to the lawsuit filed by immigrant rights advocates.
It opposed even a temporary court-ordered delay in the expiration of the Ethiopians’ protections from deportation.
Murphy said he would schedule further arguments after the agency’s records are produced, which could happen within weeks.
“I want to do everything I can to keep this case going,” Murphy said during a virtual hearing.
DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Temporary Protected Status is available to people whose home countries have experienced natural disasters, armed conflicts, or other extraordinary events.
It provides eligible migrants with work authorization and temporary protection from deportation.
DHS has moved to end the status for about a dozen countries as part of Trump’s crackdown on immigration.
The agency said TPS was always meant to be temporary and not a “de facto amnesty program.”
The case before Murphy was filed last week by three Ethiopian nationals and the group African Communities Together.
The lawsuit followed DHS’s December 12 announcement ending the TPS designation for Ethiopia, citing improved conditions.
The lawsuit argues DHS unlawfully terminated the TPS designation first granted to Ethiopia in 2022 by the Biden administration.
It states the termination came with just 60-days notice, even though armed conflicts in Ethiopia continue.
The plaintiffs say Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem took that action based on an unconstitutional animus against non-white immigrants.
Ethiopia’s population is predominantly Black. – Reuters
