On Thursday, a federal judge in San Francisco prevented the Trump administration from removing Temporary Protected Status for individuals from Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua for the time being.
In her ruling, Judge Trina Thompson delays the terminations until November, when a hearing to consider the merits will be held. About 60,000 foreign nationals whose temporary protected status was about to expire are impacted. The Nepalese protections were scheduled to expire on August 5. On September 8, the protections for Hondurans and Nicaraguans would have terminated. The majority of them have spent more than 20 years in the United States.
Thompson criticized the Trump administration’s conduct in her decision.
“The American dream, the opportunity for liberty, and the freedom to live without fear.” Plaintiffs only want that,” Thompson stated. Rather, they are instructed to purify their blood, leave due to their names, and make amends for their race. The Court doesn’t agree.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by the Department of Homeland Security.
Presidents can give protected status to migrants from nations where conditions, such civil wars or natural catastrophes, will make it unsafe for them to return, according to the law that established TPS.
Following the extensive damage caused by Hurricane Mitch in 1999, Hondurans and Nicaraguans were given TPS for the first time. Following a devastating 2015 earthquake, Nepal was added to the list of TPS countries.
The Trump administration has taken steps to remove many nations’ TPS designations, notably Haiti and Venezuela, since taking office.
Earlier this month, a Department of Homeland Security official stated that the decision to terminate TPS for Nicaragua “restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that TPS remains temporary.”
According to the spokeswoman, “Temporary Protected Status was never meant to last a quarter of a century,” “The effects of a 1999 natural disaster that hit Nicaragua are no longer present. The state of the environment has sufficiently improved for Nicaraguans to feel comfortable going back to their homes.”
United States residents have also been urged by the Department of State to “reconsider travel to Nicaragua due to arbitrary enforcement of laws, the risk of wrongful detention, and limited healthcare availability.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem declared in a news release earlier this month that “it is clear that the Government of Honduras has taken all of the necessary steps to overcome the impacts of Hurricane Mitch, almost 27 years ago” in reference to the termination of TPS for Hondurans.
“Honduran citizens can safely return home, and DHS is here to help facilitate their voluntary return,” Noem stated.
In her opinion, Judge Thompson stated that the Trump administration’s choices to terminate the programs “were based on a preordained determination to end the TPS program, rather than an objective review of the country conditions.”
Challenges to the expiration of TPS for various groups have been heard by courts nationwide, including the US Supreme Court.
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