A federal judge has halted an effort by the Trump administration to terminate legal protections for more than 5,000 Ethiopians living in the United States, according to court filings.
The ruling was issued by U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy of the District of Massachusetts, who concluded that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) likely failed to follow the legal process required by Congress when it moved to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ethiopia.
TPS is a program that allows individuals from certain countries facing crises, such as war and natural disasters, to live and work in the United States temporarily. It protects eligible individuals from deportation while their home country is considered unsafe. TPS does not automatically lead to permanent residency or citizenship.
In his decision, Murphy pointed to constitutional limits on executive power, writing that “the will of the President does not supersede that of Congress,” and adding that “presidential whims do not and cannot supplant agencies’ statutory obligations.”
The judge said the administration’s move to terminate Ethiopia’s TPS designation appeared influenced by a policy directive rather than a neutral assessment of conditions in the country. He wrote in court documents that an executive order issued by Trump signaled decisions would be “preordained, rather than based on a meaningful review of in-country conditions.”
Court Finds DHS Likely Bypassed Required Procedures
Murphy further found that DHS had disregarded the procedures set out in federal law and relied on what he described as a “pretextual” justification for ending protections, despite ongoing armed conflict and humanitarian challenges in Ethiopia.
The ruling temporarily blocks the termination, which had been scheduled to take effect in February, allowing affected individuals to retain their legal status and work authorization while the case proceeds.
The case marks a significant setback for the administration’s hard-line immigration agenda as federal courts across the country have increasingly pushed back against what they view as procedural lapses or administrative overreach in detention and deportation policies associated with the Trump administration’s crackdown on legal migration.
Department of Homeland Security officials have at times criticized federal judges whose rulings have slowed or temporarily blocked deportations, arguing that such decisions interfere with enforcement priorities and complicate efforts to carry out removals efficiently, often characterizing the judiciary as an obstacle to implementing the administration’s agenda.
“This stay by radical, Biden-appointed Judge Brian Murphy is just the latest example of judicial activists trying to prevent President Trump from restoring integrity to America’s legal immigration system,” A spokesperson for DHS said in a statement to several media outlets.
“Temporary means temporary. Country conditions—including armed conflicts—in Ethiopia have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law’s requirement for Temporary Protected Status. The Trump administration is putting Americans first.”
The administration had announced in December 2025 that it would end TPS for Ethiopians, arguing that conditions in the country had improved enough to allow safe return. That decision was challenged in court by Ethiopian nationals and advocacy groups, who argued that the situation remained dangerous and that the termination was unlawful.
“Temporary Protected Status designations are time-limited and were never meant to be a ticket to permanent residency,” a USCIS spokesperson said in a press release on December 12. “Conditions in Ethiopia no longer pose a serious threat to the personal safety of returning Ethiopian nationals. Since the situation no longer meets the statutory requirements for a TPS designation, Secretary Noem is terminating this designation to restore integrity in our immigration system.”
The Trump administration has moved to end TPS for nationals of several countries, including Afghanistan, Cameroon, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Myanmar, Ethiopia, and Yemen, affecting hundreds of thousands of migrants. Legal challenges in federal courts have delayed or blocked some of these terminations.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in late April regarding the administration’s efforts to revoke the status of Syrian and Haitian nationals.
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