A three-judge panel from the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California granted the request from the administration of Donald Trump to suspend or pause a previous district court order that had ruled Temporary Protected Status (TPS) should continue for 60,000 people from Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua.
The lower court’s order had allowed approximately 51,000 Hondurans, around 6,000 Nepalis, and nearly 3,000 Nicaraguans to continue with the immigration protection that shields them from deportation, on July 31, when it ordered a postponement of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) directives ending TPS for these countries, at least until a hearing on the merits of the lawsuit scheduled for November 18, 2025.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ new order suspends the previous ruling and the hearing.
Nepali TPS beneficiaries affected by the decision have lived legally in the United States for over 10 years, while affected Honduran and Nicaraguan beneficiaries have resided in the U.S. for over 26 years.
The TPS termination orders give immigrants only 60 days before they lose their legal immigration status.
Immigrants protected by TPS had sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), alleging that the decision to end the protection shielding them from deportation was due to “racial animosity.”
The plaintiffs are represented by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), the ACLU Foundations of Northern and Southern California, the UCLA School of Law’s Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP), and the Haitian Bridge Alliance.
In that regard, DHS Under Secretary Tricia McLaughlin argued earlier this month that the cancellation of TPS responds to a mandate to “restore integrity” to the immigration system.
“TPS was never intended as a de facto asylum system; however, that is how previous administrations have used it for decades,” the official emphasized.
In contrast, Emi MacLean, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation of Northern California, said in a statement sent to La Opinión that the Trump administration’s attack on TPS is part of “a coordinated campaign” to strip non-citizen immigrants of any legal status.
“Today’s ruling is a devastating setback, but it is not the end of this fight. Humanitarian protection through TPS is important and cannot be dismantled so easily,” the attorney added.
For his part, Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of the UCLA School of Law’s Center for Immigration Law and Policy, criticized the panel’s decision and warned that the plaintiffs “deserve better” than what the judges decided.
The panel’s ruling means that Nepali TPS beneficiaries will lose their legal status and work authorization immediately, and Honduran and Nicaraguan TPS beneficiaries will lose their protection on September 8.
Jessica Bansal, an attorney with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), which promotes the TPS Alliance, stated that the end of the protection will cause enormous hardship for tens of thousands of families, including over 40,000 U.S. citizens who are children of TPS beneficiaries.
The Trump administration has also terminated TPS for around 350,000 Venezuelans and at least 500,000 Haitians, among other migrants.
Image: Opinion
