A federal judge has cleared the way for the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of Somali nationals in the United States, lifting a previous stay that had blocked the move. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston announced the decision Friday, stating she was bound by a recent Supreme Court ruling that limits judicial review of certain administration actions.
The termination of TPS for Somalia, first announced in January, means that Somali nationals who do not have another lawful basis to remain in the U.S. could face deportation. The Department of Homeland Security had argued that conditions in Somalia had improved enough to end the humanitarian protections.
In June, the Supreme Court ruled in Mullin v. Doe that the TPS statute generally prevents lower courts from reviewing non-constitutional decisions to terminate TPS designations. This ruling has curtailed the ability of lower courts to block such administrative actions.
Burroughs had previously issued an administrative stay in the case brought by Somali nationals and advocacy groups, who alleged that the Trump administration's decision was motivated by bias against non-White immigrants. These plaintiffs pointed to past remarks made by President Trump about Somalis. Following the Supreme Court's decision, they filed an amended complaint raising new constitutional claims.
Despite acknowledging that the plaintiffs presented a "convincing showing that they will suffer irreparable harm" and that the balance of hardships and public interest favored them, Burroughs stated she was "bound… to view things through the Mullin prism." She noted that the government had not demonstrated that maintaining TPS status during litigation would impose an undue burden.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, there were 2,471 Somali nationals with TPS in the U.S. at the time of the administration's termination announcement, with an additional 1,383 pending applications.