Trump administration gets court nod to end temporary protected status for thousands of Somali nationals
A US federal judge has lifted a stay blocking the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for Somali nationals. The move could expose migrants without another legal status to deportation.
The Trump administration has secured court permission to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of Somali migrants residing in the United States, according to Fox News. Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston lifted a stay on Friday, removing a block on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from concluding Somalia's TPS designation.
The judge's decision stemmed from a recent Supreme Court ruling that restricted judicial review of certain TPS termination choices. This ruling permits the administration to proceed with halting TPS for Somalia, which could result in affected migrants who lack alternative lawful residence in the US facing deportation. Burroughs, a former President Barack Obama appointee, had previously halted the termination after four Somali nationals and two advocacy groups challenged the move.
The administration had announced in January its plan to terminate Somalia's TPS status, citing improved conditions in the country as a basis for lifting humanitarian protections. The Supreme Court's ruling in Mullin v Doe, issued in June, barred judicial review of non-constitutional decisions by the administration to end TPS designations for Somalia.
Plaintiffs had argued that the administration's decision was driven by racial and national-origin discrimination, pointing to past comments made by Trump regarding Somalis. Following the Supreme Court's ruling, the plaintiffs amended their complaint to introduce new constitutional claims and sought emergency relief to prevent the termination from taking effect.
Judge Burroughs, citing the plaintiffs' compelling case, acknowledged they were likely to suffer irreparable harm. However, she concluded that the Supreme Court's ruling limited her ability to continue blocking the administration's action, stating she was "bound… to view things through the Mullin prism." The administration's decision impacts several thousand Somali nationals presently in the US.
As of now, 2,471 Somali nationals have TPS, while an additional 1,383 have pending TPS applications.
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