A federal appeals court has handed the Trump administration two immigration policy victories, reversing district court orders that had temporarily halted the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for migrants from South Sudan and Ethiopia. The rulings from the First Circuit Court of Appeals found that the lower court judges' orders conflicted with a Supreme Court decision.
The three-judge panel, which included two judges appointed by President Joe Biden and one by President Donald Trump, stated that the Supreme Court's ruling in Mullin v. Doe established that courts cannot block TPS terminations based on non-constitutional claims. The judges wrote that the TPS statute's judicial-review bar applies to all non-constitutional claims challenging the Secretary of Homeland Security's determination regarding TPS designations.
The cases were brought by African Communities Together, an immigrant advocacy organization, and individual TPS recipients. They argued that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unlawfully ended the protections, violating the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution. The plaintiffs alleged that the agency failed to properly assess conditions in the two countries and that the decisions were motivated by racial discrimination.
U.S. District Judges Brian Murphy and Patti Saris had issued orders blocking the Trump administration's termination of TPS for Ethiopia and South Sudan, respectively. These rulings drew criticism from Trump administration officials, who called the judges "rogue" and argued their decisions defied the Supreme Court. DHS General Counsel James Percival previously stated that such orders represented "mutiny against the Supreme Court" and "open defiance" of the justices' decision.
Iowa Solicitor General Eric Wessan commented that the First Circuit correctly applied Supreme Court precedent. He explained that district courts are not intended to second-guess TPS terminations and that the Supreme Court's ruling indicates these disputes should not be heard by lower courts. Wessan added that while judges can allow plaintiffs to amend their complaints, the TPS termination remains in effect in the interim.
A DHS spokesperson welcomed the rulings, calling them "a win for the rule of law and common sense." The spokesperson stated that TPS is intended to be temporary and has been allowed to function as a de facto amnesty program, which was not Congress's intent.