Court decides Trump can end deportation protections for migrants from Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua

Legal Ruling on Deportation Protections

A significant court decision on Monday favored the Trump administration, permitting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to end deportation protections for about 90,000 immigrants from Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua currently residing in the U.S.

A panel of three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously determined that a previous ruling by a lower court was incorrect in blocking the administration’s efforts to discontinue Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from these three nations. This overturned a ruling from San Francisco District Judge Trina Thompson.

The appellate court noted that “the government’s stance that the Secretary’s decision to terminate TPS for Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal was not arbitrary likely has merit.”

The court further elaborated that the government is likely to prove that the Secretary had a solid basis for the decision, stating that the TPS Act does not necessitate the Secretary to account for intervening conditions arising after the initial TPS assignments. Moreover, it concluded that not considering these new conditions is not an unjustified policy shift.

Since the 1990s, the TPS program has offered humanitarian aid to immigrants affected by disastrous events and conflicts.

This federal program allows individuals to maintain temporary legal status and work permits in the U.S.

Following Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which caused around 7,300 fatalities, many Hondurans and Nicaraguans were granted legal status to migrate and work as part of the government’s humanitarian response.

Nepal gained entry into the TPS program in June 2015 after suffering a devastating earthquake.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem hailed the appeals court ruling, labeling it “a victory for the rule of law and the vindication of the U.S. Constitution.”

“The previous administration misused Temporary Protected Status to allow entry to violent criminals and national security threats,” she remarked. “Although TPS was not intended for permanence, it has essentially functioned as an amnesty program over the decades.”