Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration Move, Keeps Protections For South Sudan Migrants

The judgment will protect close to 200 migrants from returning to South Sudan—for now.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is banned from stripping Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections away from close to 200 migrants from South Sudan on a temporary basis thanks to a ruling from a federal judge, The Hill reports.

The goal of the ruling from U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley of Massachusetts is to make sure migrants can stay stateside until the judge considers the case more fully.

“Because of the serious consequences at stake, both for the Plaintiffs and the Defendants, the Court finds an administrative stay appropriate, as it would ‘minimize harm,’ while allowing the assigned District Court Judge the time this case deserves,” Kelley wrote.

Kelley will issue a new decision after receiving written briefing through Jan. 13, The Hill reports.

The TPS program, which permits migrants to stay in the U.S. and receive work authorization if they come from a country experiencing turmoil, has been at the forefront of conversation since the Biden administration. South Sudan falls in that category. Africa’s youngest country has been so riddled with violence that the U.S. State Department issued an advisory against Americans traveling there.

Despite the travel advisory, in November, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced after a review of the country’s conditions, its TPS status would end after Jan. 5.

South Sudan, which joined the program in 2011 after gaining its independence, has close to 232 TPS recipients. According to Fox News, there are approximately 73 migrants from the country with pending applications, putting them at risk for deportation. The ruling, as a result of a lawsuit presented by African Communities Together and several South Sudanese TPS holders, claim without TPS, South Sudanese migrants would be ridded of their lawful status.

If deported to South Sudan, the group would be at risk of receiving irreversible harm.

The Biden appointee labeled the issues as “legally complex” and touched on the “serious, long-term consequences, including the risk of deadly harm.” The Trump administration felt the judge should deny the plaintiff’s request, arguing the group shouldn’t have waited more than six weeks after the announcement to sue. “It should not serve to directly enjoin Executive agency action, which is what Plaintiffs’ requested administrative stay would accomplish,” Trump’s DOJ said.

Kelley, instead, rejected the administration’s arguments saying the government’s proposed approach could result in individual deportations.

Similar to protections for Haitians, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said TPS protections were “never designed to be permanent” and described the ruling as yet “another lawless and activist order from the federal judiciary who continues to usurp the President’s constitutional authority.” The Biden administration’s use of TPS, McLaughlin added in a statement, allowed “violent terrorists, criminals, and national security threats into our nation.”

Since 2013, battles have continued between the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, which have caused thousands of deaths and nearly 2 million displacements. A February rift between the groups put residents, with a focus on women and children, at extreme risk, after reports of conflict-related sexual violence, killings and kidnappings flooded in.