Judge halts Trump plan to end temporary protected status for South Sudanese

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A federal judge in Massachusetts temporarily halted the Trump administration from beginning deportations connected to its move to end Temporary Protected Status for South Sudanese immigrants, according to a lawsuit and a court order described in a report. The decision pauses enforcement while the judge weighs legal challenges to whether the Trump administration’s action is unlawful.

The termination was scheduled to take effect Jan. 6, 2026, which would have made affected South Sudanese TPS holders in the United States—and people with pending applications—eligible for deportation, the report said. In the meantime, the order keeps the status in place while the court considers the merits.

The case was brought in late December by civil rights groups that sued the Department of Homeland Security, according to the report. In their complaint, the groups argued that the move violated administrative procedure and the Constitution, and that it aimed to “significantly reduce the number of non-white and non-European immigrants in the United States” based on race.

U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley issued the order, the report said. The judge temporarily barred the federal government from initiating deportation while a final decision is pending.

Kelley wrote that the consequences of the changes were “significant and far-reaching” and said they “not only deserve, but require, a full and careful consideration of the merits by the Court,” according to the report. The report also said Kelley cautioned that the changes could potentially cause irreversible harm to East African migrants.

In response, the Department of Homeland Security criticized the judge’s action in a statement, the report said. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote that the order was “yet another lawless and activist order from the federal judiciary who continues to usurp the President’s constitutional authority.”

The report said McLaughlin also argued that under the previous administration, Temporary Protected Status had been “abused to allow violent terrorists, criminals, and national security threats into our nation.” Without providing evidence, she said there was “renewed peace in South Sudan,” pointing to what she described as safe reintegration and improved diplomatic relations.

Temporary Protected Status is generally granted to people from countries devastated by war or natural disaster, the report said, and applicants must already be in the United States and pass extensive background checks and vetting through DHS.

The report added that Dorian Spence, litigation coordinator for Communities United for Status and Protection, argued DHS did not have evidence to support that it was safe for South Sudanese TPS holders to return. Spence said DHS’s position conflicted with the State Department’s assessment, and said the move was part of what the group described as an effort to make America “whiter.”

Other critics cited in the report said the move was political retaliation connected to South Sudan’s decision to stop accepting deportees from the United States as part of a separate program to send migrants to third countries. The report said at least eight men were deported to South Sudan from the U.S. earlier in the year.

The report also said the Trump administration has attempted to withdraw other protections that allow immigrants to remain and work legally, including ending temporary status for Venezuelans and Haitians who had protections under President Joe Biden. It said protections for immigrants from Ethiopia, Cameroon, Afghanistan, Nepal, Burma, Syria, Nicaragua and Honduras were also in jeopardy.