A federal judge has lifted the last remaining block on the Trump administration's efforts to cancel Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for roughly 5,000 Ethiopians living in the United States, allowing the government to pursue deportations.
US District Judge Brian Murphy's decision removes a temporary stay that had prevented the termination of TPS for Ethiopians. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted on X, formerly Twitter, after the ruling, stating, "Those with terminated TPS are in our nation ILLEGALLY. They have two options: LEAVE IMMEDIATELY or be DEPORTED."
DHS General Counsel James Percival also posted on X, "All TPS terminations are in effect!"
The Trump administration had sought to cancel TPS, a humanitarian protection for immigrants fleeing countries experiencing extraordinary events like natural disasters or armed conflict, for people from over a dozen countries as part of a broader immigration crackdown. The termination for Ethiopians marks the final country where the administration pursued ending TPS.
Ethiopian nationals who sued to preserve TPS, along with the advocacy group African Communities Together, expressed disappointment. Diana Konaté, the group's deputy executive director of policy and advocacy, stated, "The crisis in Ethiopia is still ongoing, and this decision puts the lives of thousands of Ethiopians living in the US at severe risk."
Murphy's ruling dismissed some claims in the lawsuit but permits plaintiffs to continue litigating whether the cancellation was motivated by racial or national origin animus, which would be unconstitutional. The decision follows a similar Supreme Court ruling in June that ended protections for thousands from Haiti and Syria.
Ethiopia was first designated for TPS in 2022 by the Biden administration, following armed conflict including the Tigray war. However, DHS initially announced its intention to end TPS for Ethiopians in December, under then-Secretary Kristi Noem, asserting that conditions in Ethiopia were safe. The administration had previously ended TPS for several countries in South and Central America, including Venezuela and Honduras.
The situation in Ethiopia remains volatile, with millions in the Tigray region living under fear of renewed conflict, nearly four years after a devastating two-year war. Recent weeks have seen reports of fighting and drone strikes in parts of Tigray. Tensions have escalated as both the federal government and Tigrayan leaders accuse each other of violating the 2022 Pretoria Agreement that ended the civil war. The Tigray People's Liberation Front has moved to restore the pre-war regional government, while the federal government has accused Tigrayan leaders of cooperating with Eritrea and the Sudanese military. Renewed confrontation also raises concerns about potential Eritrean involvement and wider regional unrest. Ethiopia is also contending with armed insurgencies in its most populous states, Oromia and Amhara.