A federal judge in Massachusetts blocked the Trump administration’s decision to end Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopians, ruling that the government terminated the program without following the statutory steps laid out by Congress. In a Wednesday decision, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy said the administration’s action violated the process required for ending TPS protections.
Murphy’s order kept TPS in place for Ethiopians who have been protected from deportation and allowed to live and work in the United States under the program. The decision comes as TPS holders from multiple countries continue challenging terminations of their protections in federal courts.
TPS was created by Congress in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries dealing with natural disasters or civil strife, while also providing authorization to work in increments of up to 18 months. The program’s structure has become central to disputes over whether the administration can end designations on the timeline and through the procedures it has chosen.
The Biden administration granted TPS to Ethiopians living in the U.S. in 2022, citing armed conflict and humanitarian suffering, and extended the designation in April 2024. Under President Donald Trump’s administration, the Department of Homeland Security terminated TPS for Ethiopia in December 2025, saying Ethiopia no longer met the conditions for the designation.
Murphy said DHS disregarded those statutory procedures. He wrote that “Fundamental to this case — and indeed to our constitutional system — is the principle that the will of the President does not supersede that of Congress,” adding that “Presidential whims do not and cannot supplant agencies’ statutory obligations.”
The case also reflects the broader legal fight over the administration’s TPS changes. AP reported that more than 1 million migrants from 17 countries were protected under TPS during the Biden administration, and that DHS terminated designations for 13 of those countries after Trump took office in January 2025.
In court filings and proceedings tied to TPS terminations, the administration and TPS challengers have argued over the legal authority and procedure for ending protections. After Murphy’s decision, DHS reiterated that TPS is a temporary status.
DHS spokeswoman Lauren Bis said the ruling reflected improper judicial interference, telling AP the decision was “just the latest example of judicial activists trying to prevent President Trump from restoring integrity to America’s legal immigration system.”
The next major stage in the broader TPS litigation is set for April 29, when the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments related to the administration’s efforts to end TPS protections for 6,100 people from Syria and 350,000 from Haiti.
As the case involving Ethiopians continues, the decision in Murphy’s court highlights how disputes over TPS often turn on what process Congress required agencies to follow when they decide to end temporary protections.