Ruling delays February 13 deadline affecting 5,000 people amid wider legal challenges to Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown.<\/p>\n
Published On 31 Jan 202631 Jan 2026<\/p>\n
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A federal judge has halted the Trump administration\u2019s plan to strip deportation protections from thousands of Ethiopians living in the United States.<\/p>\n
Judge Brian Murphy in Boston issued the order on Friday, delaying a February 13 deadline that would have forced<\/a> more than 5,000 Ethiopians to leave the country or face arrest.<\/p>\n Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n The ruling represents the latest legal setback to the administration\u2019s broader push to end temporary protections for more than one million people across multiple countries.<\/p>\n Murphy\u2019s decision came during a virtual hearing, where he said the delay would provide time for the Department of Homeland Security to produce records explaining its decision-making process before he considers blocking the move for longer.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to do everything I can to keep this case going,\u201d the judge said.<\/p>\n The case was brought by three Ethiopian nationals and the advocacy group African Communities Together, who filed suit after the DHS announced in December it was terminating<\/a> the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) first granted to Ethiopia in 2022.<\/p>\n The lawsuit argues the administration unlawfully ended the protections with just 60 days\u2019 notice despite ongoing armed conflict in the African nation.<\/p>\n Plaintiffs also claim Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem acted based on an \u201cunconstitutional animus against non-white immigrants\u201d.<\/p>\n The move came even as the State Department continues urging Americans to reconsider travel<\/a> to Ethiopia due to \u201csporadic violent conflict, civil unrest, crime, communications disruptions, terrorism and kidnapping\u201d.<\/p>\n The DHS defended the termination by pointing to recent peace agreements, including a 2022 ceasefire in Tigray, despite renewed<\/a> fighting in the region this month.<\/p>\n DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said TPS \u201cwas never intended to be a de facto amnesty programme, yet that\u2019s how previous administrations have used it for decades\u201d.<\/p>\n The ruling follows a similar decision a day earlier when a federal appeals court found the administration unlawfully ended protections for 600,000 Venezuelans.<\/p>\n That three-judge panel said Noem\u2019s actions were based on \u201cracist stereotyping\u201d and left people \u201cin a constant state of fear that they will be deported, detained, separated from their families\u201d.<\/p>\n About a dozen countries now face TPS terminations as part of Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown.<\/p>\n