Fed court of appeals grants Trump admin pause on protections for 60K immigrants

A federal appeals court in San Francisco granted the Trump administration an emergency stay, halting a lower-court order that preserved Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 60,000 immigrants from Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal.

The National TPS Alliance, which represents people with TPS in the U.S., as well as those from Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal who challenged the decision to terminate TPS, argue the action was unlawful and at least partially motivated by racial bias.

Judge Trina Thompson, a federal judge in California, delayed the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) decision to terminate protections for immigrants from the three countries on July 31, adding to legal hurdles for the Trump administration as it pushes out its deportation agenda.

In her decision, Thompson said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s terminations of TPS were likely "preordained decisions" that violated the Administrative Procedure Act. She also agreed with the National TPS Alliance, noting Noem’s motives were driven by racial animus.

VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS, PROGRESSIVE GROUP SUE TRUMP ADMIN AFTER NOEM NIXES BIDEN-ERA ‘PROTECTED STATUS’

Kristi Noem, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, is seen during a meeting with President Donald Trump and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's president, in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday, April 14. (Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American dream. That is all Plaintiffs seek," Thompson, a Biden-appointee, wrote in an order. "Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood. The Court disagrees."

The appeals court panel was made up of three judges appointed by former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, as well as President Donald Trump.

In its decision the panel paused Thompson’s decision while the appeal proceeded. It also suspended the existing briefing schedule and requested all parties to propose new schedules after a related case – National TPS Alliance v. Noem – is decided.

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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, left, and White House border czar Tom Homan speak with reporters at the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP)

But the panel also refused to put a freeze on any activity in the district court related to this case, stressing the docket management is up to the trial judge.

The lawsuit was brought by a group representing TPS holders, including some who have lived in the country for more than two decades.

Attorneys wrote in court papers on behalf of the immigrants that they were "laborers, health care workers, artists, and caretakers" who have "relied on TPS to provide the most basic forms of human security — a stable place to live and a chance to work for a living during a time of severe crisis in their home countries."

FEDERAL JUDGE HALTS TRUMP TPS POLICY, ACCUSES DHS OF MAKING MIGRANTS 'ATONE FOR THEIR RACE'

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the entire southern border wall will be painted black as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to increase border security. (Alex Brandon/Pool via REUTERS and Fox News Photo/Joshua Comins)

They argued that Noem declining to extend their TPS status was, by law, supposed to be reached based on an individualized analysis of each country. The judge found that Noem likely failed to condition TPS termination on factors specific to the immigrants' countries of origin.

They also said Noem had given the immigrants a historically short notice period of 60 days before they would lose their TPS status. And she and other Trump administration officials have normalized using "racist invective" to explain their TPS decisions, the attorneys said.

The TPS program gives the DHS authority to permit immigrants who might otherwise have no legal status to temporarily reside in the United States because of extraordinary circumstances in their home countries, such as wars or natural disasters.

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The plaintiffs argued that roughly 61,000 people would lose their TPS as a result of Noem's decision, which would end the immigrants' legal status and work authorizations and make them eligible for deportation.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.