A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from ending deportation protections for hundreds of South Sudanese nationals in the United States.
U.S. District Judge Patti Saris ruled that the Department of Homeland Security likely acted unlawfully in seeking to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for South Sudan, saying the move relied on “pretextual” reasoning.
The decision preserves a programme that has allowed South Sudanese migrants to live and work legally in the U.S. since 2011.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had argued that conditions in South Sudan had improved and no longer justified the designation.
The lawsuit was filed by South Sudanese nationals and the group African Communities Together.
The ruling temporarily halts the termination while the case proceeds.
