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A federal judge on Friday postponed the Trump administration from revoking the temporary status for Nicaraguan, Honduran and Nepali immigrants, finding the cancellation was likely rooted in racial animus.
The 37-page ruling by San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson, a Biden appointee, argued the move by Homeland Security Secretary Krisiti Noem to cancel the temporary humanitarian protections appeared to be parietally rooted in “racial and discriminatory animus” in support of their Fifth Amendment claim.
“Color is neither a poison nor a crime,” the ruling states. “Therefore, Plaintiffs have provided sufficient evidence to establish that Plaintiffs will likely succeed on the merits of their Fifth Amendment claim.”
DHS TERMINATES TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR AROUND 76K HONDURAN, NICARAGUAN MIGRANTS
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security likened Thompson’s ruling to a New York Times opinion piece.
“Restoring integrity to our immigration system to keep our homeland and its people safe. That is all we—and the American people who elected President Trump in a landslide election—seek,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “TPS was never meant to be a de facto asylum system, yet that is how previous administrations have used it for decades. This is yet another example of how out of control judges are race-baiting to distract from the facts and President’s constitutionally vested powers under Article II. We will appeal, and we expect a higher court to vindicate us.”
The ruling is a reprieve for more than 60,000 immigrants who have been allowed to legally live and work in the United States under the TPS program.
A White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the program was never intended to become permanent.
“‘Temporary Protected Status’ is, by definition, temporary. It was never intended to be a pathway to permanent status or legal residency, and no bizarre analysis from radical judges will change that fact,” White House spokesperson Abigal Jackson said. “This judge simply did not have lawful authority to review the TPS designation – the Supreme Court already affirmed in prior rulings that extensions of TPS are committed by law to the discretion of the Secretary of Homeland Security.”
“The ruling reads like a left-wing fever dream, not a serious judicial opinion,” she added. “Ultimately, the lower court’s ruling will not stand and we look forward to ultimate vindication in this case.”
FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION POLICY IN SHOCKING DECISION ON HAITIAN PROTECTIONS
The Trump administration was poised to end the protections for Honduran and Nicaraguan migrants as it ramps up deportations. TPS was set to expire for Honduras and Nicaragua in September.
The decision to end TPS for the two nations comes weeks after DHS terminated the same status for Haiti and months after terminating TPS for Venezuelans. A federal judge has since blocked that termination amid an ongoing legal battle.
In her ruling, Thompson noted statements made by Noem, like those that cast illegal immigrants as “invaders” or “criminals,” “perpetuate the discriminatory belief that certain immigrant populations will replace the white population.”
“Although the Secretary’s statements ‘may appear innocent or only mildly offensive to one who is not a member of the targeted group,’ the statements are ‘in reality . . . intolerably abusive or threatening when understood from the perspective of a plaintiff who is a member of the targeted group’,” she wrote.
The Department of Homeland Security noted that some of the people who “exploited” the TPS program include several Hondurans with convictions for aggravated assault, possessing, selling, or manufacturing a dangerous weapon, sex crimes against children, domestic violence and resisting arrest.
In May, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration in a ruling that lifted a San Francisco District Court Judge’s injunction that temporarily blocked the termination of TPS for Venezuelans, paving the way for the administration to legally revoke TPS for subsequent nations.
Created by Congress through the Immigration Act of 1990, TPS allows individuals from countries affected by natural disasters, war, or other dangerous, unusual circumstances to seek refuge in the U.S. This program can be renewed in 18-month increments.
Fox News Digital’s Preston Mizell contributed to this report.
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