By Ginika Igboke
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to halt its plan to end deportation protections for South Sudanese nationals living in the United States.
U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley, based in Boston, granted an emergency request to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for South Sudanese nationals, which was scheduled to expire next week.
Earlier this year, DHS announced that TPS for South Sudan would be terminated on Jan. 5, 2026, requiring beneficiaries to leave the United States or face potential immigration enforcement. Judge Kelley issued her ruling after four South Sudanese nationals and the nonprofit group African Communities Together filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing that the termination was unlawful and would force individuals to return to a country facing ongoing humanitarian crises.
On Dec. 30, Kelley imposed an administrative stay, temporarily blocking the termination while the case proceeds. She said allowing the policy to take effect before judicial review “would result in an immediate impact on the South Sudanese nationals, stripping current beneficiaries of lawful status, which could imminently result in their deportation.”
She also warned that even a temporary lapse in TPS could have lasting consequences. “If their TPS expires and is eventually restored following a full consideration of the merits, any gap in immigration status for South Sudanese nationals could result in ineligibility for future relief,” Kelley wrote.
According to the lawsuit, approximately 232 South Sudanese nationals currently hold TPS in the United States, with an additional 73 applications pending.
In its termination notice, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said that after reviewing conditions in South Sudan, the department concluded the country “no longer continues to meet the conditions for the designation.” She stated that the civil war that followed South Sudan’s independence in 2011 does not pose a “serious threat to the personal safety of returning South Sudanese nationals.” The United States first designated South Sudan for TPS in 2011.
TPS is a humanitarian program that allows nationals from designated countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions to remain temporarily in the United States with authorization to work.
Under the Biden administration, TPS was expanded to include hundreds of thousands of nationals from countries such as Ukraine, Afghanistan, Venezuela, and Haiti. More recently, DHS under Secretary Noem has moved to end TPS designations for several countries, including Syria, Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, and Nicaragua.
Earlier this month, DHS announced plans to end TPS for Ethiopian nationals by Feb. 13, 2026, and encouraged affected individuals to self-deport using the agency’s CBP Home app in exchange for a cash incentive.
Beyond TPS changes, the Trump administration has also broadened travel restrictions on nationals from multiple countries. An executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Dec. 16 imposed full travel restrictions on South Sudan and four other nations, while maintaining restrictions on 12 countries previously designated as high risk.
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