A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending deportation protections for South Sudanese nationals living in the United States, allowing them to remain while a legal challenge moves forward. U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley, a Biden appointee based in Boston, issued an administrative stay preventing the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 200 individuals. She emphasized that the order does not rule on the merits of the case but is intended to preserve the status quo until the court can more fully consider the arguments.
[read more]
In her four-page ruling, Judge Kelley said the stay was necessary due to the serious consequences involved for both sides. She wrote that maintaining current protections would minimize potential harm while giving the assigned district court judge adequate time to review the dispute. Kelley said she will issue a further ruling after reviewing written briefs from both parties, which are due by January 13. Until then, South Sudanese TPS holders may continue living and working legally in the United States.
Temporary Protected Status allows nationals of certain countries to remain in the U.S. when conditions such as armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances make it unsafe to return home. South Sudan was first designated for TPS in 2011 following its independence and has continued to face political instability and violence. The U.S. State Department currently advises Americans not to travel there, and court filings indicate that roughly 232 South Sudanese nationals are currently protected under the program.
The case arises amid broader efforts by President Trump’s second administration to scale back the TPS program by ending protections for multiple countries. Legal challenges are ongoing regarding TPS changes affecting nationals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Haiti, Honduras, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Syria, and Venezuela. Last month, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that she had reviewed conditions in South Sudan and determined that its TPS designation would end after January 5, prompting the current lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed by individual TPS holders and the advocacy group African Communities Together, which argues that the administration acted unlawfully. The plaintiffs claim the decision was driven by racial bias, that required consultations with other federal agencies did not occur, and that the administration lacked sufficient justification for ending the designation. The Trump administration opposed the emergency request, arguing that the plaintiffs waited too long to sue and that an administrative stay should not be used to block executive action. For now, however, Judge Kelley’s order keeps TPS protections in place, preventing affected individuals from facing deportation as early as next week.[/read]