A federal judge in Boston lifted the final legal block Tuesday on the Trump administration's termination of Temporary Protected Status for roughly 5,000 Ethiopian nationals, cementing DHS's TPS rollback.
A federal judge in Boston cleared the way Tuesday for the Trump administration to end deportation protections for roughly 5,000 Ethiopian nationals, removing the final legal hurdle blocking the termination of their Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy lifted the administrative stay that had kept Ethiopia's TPS designation alive through months of litigation, ruling that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has the authority to terminate the program and that affected individuals were not entitled to individual hearings before the nationwide designation ended.
DHS celebrated the outcome. "All TPS terminations are now IN EFFECT," the department posted, adding that those with terminated status "should leave NOW. If they don't, we will DEPORT them."
DHS under then-Secretary Kristi Noem announced in December 2025 that Ethiopia no longer met the conditions for TPS, arguing that conditions in the country had improved. The termination was set to take effect on Feb. 13, 2026.
Legal challenges from advocacy groups, including African Communities Together, produced a series of temporary court-ordered pauses. The litigation, African Communities Together v. Mullin, argued that DHS ended the protections because of racial and national-origin discrimination.
The June ruling in Mullin v. Doe, a 6-3 decision, curtailed the ability of lower courts to second-guess DHS decisions to terminate TPS designations, limiting judicial review to constitutional claims. That decision allowed the administration to end similar protections for migrants from Haiti and Syria.
Murphy's Tuesday ruling dissolved the last remaining pause, finding that the discrimination claims could proceed but did not justify keeping the termination on hold. The judge, a Biden appointee, rejected the argument that the government needed to provide individual hearings before winding down the nationwide program.
TPS provides work authorization and protection from deportation to migrants whose home countries face armed conflict, natural disaster, or other extraordinary conditions. Ethiopia's designation dates to 2022 under the Biden administration and was extended in 2024.
Tuesday's ruling completes DHS's termination push for the 13 countries whose designations were under review, following recent court orders allowing the administration to end protections for TPS holders from countries including Haiti, Somalia, Syria, and Myanmar. The decisions leave more than a million people who previously held protected status without that shield.
Ethiopian nationals covered by the designation now face the wind-down of their protections and potential deportation proceedings. The plaintiffs' Fifth Amendment equal-protection claim remains alive and could be appealed, but the practical effect of Tuesday's ruling is that enforcement of U.S. immigration law moves forward.
For the administration, it is another win in a string of court victories that have restored executive authority over the immigration system after years of judicial obstruction. The message from DHS is clear: the protections are over, and those affected are expected to leave the country voluntarily.
A federal judge in Boston lifted the final legal block Tuesday on the Trump administration's termination of Temporary Protected Status for roughly 5,000 Ethiopian nationals, cementing DHS's TPS rollback.
freedomlinedispatch.com
