A California federal judge on Thursday delayed the end dates of temporary protected status designations previously reserved for an estimated 61,000 people from Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal until the Department of Homeland Security revoked those deportation protections.
The ruling represents a setback for the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda as it seeks to deport illegal immigrants and foreign nationals who have overstayed their time in the United States.
U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson of San Francisco temporarily blocked the federal government from terminating the TPS protections and work permits for thousands of migrants from Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal. The Biden-appointed judge scheduled a Nov. 18 hearing on the matter.
The TPS designations for an estimated 7,000 Nepalese were previously set to end Aug. 5, and those for 51,000 Hondurans and 3,000 Nicaraguans were set to lapse on Sept. 8. The migrants from Central America have resided in the United States for more than 25 years, ever since Hurricane Mitch hit the region in 1998.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem determined the deportation protections for those three groups of migrants, among others, were no longer necessary since conditions in their native countries have improved.
For instance, Noem said earlier this month that Honduras “has taken all of the necessary steps to overcome the impacts of Hurricane Mitch” and that “Honduran citizens can safely return home.”
Judge Thompson concluded the plaintiffs are likely to succeed in their argument that Noem’s decision to terminate TPS protections was motivated by “racial animus.”
“In totality, Plaintiffs have produced sufficient evidence demonstrating racial and discriminatory animus in support of their Fifth Amendment claim. Color is neither a poison nor a crime,” Thompson wrote in the 37-page order.
‘TEMPORARY’ IN NAME ONLY: HOW TPS ALLOWS FOREIGNERS TO STAY IN THE US FOR YEARS
“The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American dream,” she said at the start of the court document. “That is all Plaintiffs seek. Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood. The Court disagrees.”
In recent weeks, the DHS has revoked TPS designations for an estimated 350,000 Venezuelans, 500,000 Haitians, 160,000 Ukrainians, and thousands more from Afghanistan and Cameroon. Several lawsuits are pending in federal courts.
