A Massachusetts judge ruled that Ethiopia’s temporary protected status designation must remain in effect while the court considers a legal challenge to the administration’s termination decision.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending temporary protected status for Ethiopian nationals, preserving deportation protections while the court reviews the merits of the legal challenge.
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy of the District of Massachusetts issued an administrative stay preventing the Department of Homeland Security from implementing the termination. The order said additional time was necessary because the issues presented could not be properly evaluated through an expedited review.
“During the period of the stay of the Termination, the Termination shall be null, void, and of no legal effect,” Murphy wrote.
The order did not specify how long the stay would remain in place.
DHS special counsel James Percival sharply criticized the decision in a post on X.
“Judge Brian Murphy just entered an order preventing us from terminating TPS for Ethiopia,” Percival wrote. “These district judges are engaged in mutiny against the Supreme Court. It must stop!”
The ruling follows a June 25 Supreme Court decision allowing the Trump administration to end TPS protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian nationals. The federal government had asked the high court to intervene in litigation involving Syria, which was considered alongside a separate dispute over Haiti’s designation.
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court majority concluded that federal law prohibited judicial review of certain legal claims challenging DHS determinations concerning temporary protected status.
DHS, then led by Secretary Kristi Noem, announced on Dec. 12, 2025, that Ethiopia’s TPS designation would be terminated. The department said its review found that conditions in Ethiopia no longer satisfied the statutory standards required to continue the protections.
TPS permits eligible foreign nationals to remain and work temporarily in the United States when armed conflict, natural disaster or other extraordinary circumstances make returning to their home country unsafe.
Congress established the program during the 1990s. TPS does not provide recipients with a direct path to lawful permanent residency or U.S. citizenship, and each designation must be reviewed periodically by the DHS secretary to determine whether conditions still justify an extension.
Ethiopia received its TPS designation on Dec. 12, 2022, because of armed conflict and extraordinary conditions in the country. Former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas extended the designation in April 2024.
The Biden administration expanded TPS protections to include hundreds of thousands of migrants from numerous countries. Since President Donald Trump returned to office, DHS has sought to reverse several of those designations, arguing that the program has been misused and extended beyond its intended temporary purpose.
“Temporary Protected Status designations are time-limited and were never meant to be a ticket to permanent residency,” a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesperson said Dec. 12.
“Conditions in Ethiopia no longer pose a serious threat to the personal safety of returning Ethiopian nationals. … [Then] Secretary Noem is terminating this designation to restore integrity in our immigration system.”
TPS protections for Ethiopian nationals had been scheduled to end Feb. 13, but plaintiffs challenging the decision obtained a stay Jan. 30.
The administration has faced similar lawsuits over its efforts to terminate TPS designations for other countries. While some of those decisions remain tied up in court, the administration has succeeded in ending protections for nationals of Nepal, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Murphy’s latest order does not resolve the underlying dispute over Ethiopia’s designation. It temporarily prevents the termination from taking effect while the court considers whether the administration acted lawfully.
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