US judge temporarily blocks end of Ethiopians' deportation protections

By Nate Raymond

A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked U.S. President Donald Trump's administration from ending protections from deportation that had been granted to thousands of Ethiopians living in the United States.

U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston said he would issue an order delaying the February 13 effective date of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's termination of the Temporary Protected Status granted to over 5,000 Ethiopians in order to provide more time for a legal challenge to be heard.

Murphy, who was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, during a virtual hearing said an order administratively staying the effective date would allow DHS time to produce records detailing how it made its decision so he can then consider whether to block the agency's action for even longer.

The U.S. Department of Justice had requested more time to respond to the lawsuit filed by immigrant rights advocates before Murphy, after he set the case down for arguments on Tuesday.

At the same time, it opposed even a temporary court-ordered delay in the expiration of the protections the Ethiopians had from deportation. Murphy said he would schedule further arguments after the agency's records are produced, which a government lawyer suggested could be done within weeks.

"I want to do everything I can to keep this case going," Murphy said.

DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Under federal law, Temporary Protected Status is available to people whose home countries have experienced natural disasters, armed conflicts or other extraordinary events. It provides eligible migrants with work authorization and temporary protection from deportation.

DHS has moved to end the status for about a dozen countries as part of Trump's crackdown on immigration, saying TPS was always meant to be temporary and not a "de facto amnesty program."

The case before Murphy was filed last week by three Ethiopian nationals and the group African Communities Together after DHS said on December 12 it was ending the TPS designation for Ethiopia, citing improved conditions in the African nation.

The lawsuit argues DHS unlawfully terminated the TPS designation first granted to Ethiopia in 2022 by the Biden administration with just 60-days notice, even though armed conflicts there continue.

The plaintiffs say Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem took that action based on an unconstitutional animus against non-white immigrants. Ethiopia's population is predominantly Black.