Judge Clears Path for Trump Admin to End Ethiopian TPS

A federal judge in the United States has cleared the path for the Trump administration to strip deportation protections from Ethiopian nationals. More than 5,000 people now face removal after Tuesday's order. US District Judge Brian Murphy signed off on ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for this group. This legal status lets foreign citizens remain in America and seek work authorization when their home nations are unsafe.

Since Donald Trump returned to the White House for a second term in 2025, his team has pushed hard to end TPS for many nationalities. Tuesday's decision removes the last court block stopping the government from ending protections country by country. Homeland Security General Counsel James Percival posted on social media that Judge Murphy lifted the stay. He declared all TPS terminations are now in effect.

The Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling in June that narrowed how judges can review DHS efforts to cut off TPS. That decision targeted recipients from Syria and Haiti but created a ripple effect for others. As of March, roughly 1.29 million people lived under these protections across the country. They represented seventeen nations where officials deemed conditions unstable or dangerous.

The administration wants to end TPS for at least thirteen of those nationalities. Targets include Venezuela, Nicaragua, South Sudan, and Somalia. The Pew Research Center estimates revocations will impact at least one million participants this year. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated on Tuesday that the program must remain temporary. He warned anyone whose status was cancelled they are now in the nation illegally.

Critics argue these conditions have not improved enough to justify ending protections so quickly. The move shifts power back toward mass deportations and stricter immigration enforcement. Communities relying on TPS stand to lose stability overnight.

Leave immediately or be swiftly deported." These were the stark choices facing Ethiopians living in America until recently. Critics argue that withdrawing Temporary Protected Status for these groups ignores ongoing civil wars, natural disasters, and other grave dangers back home. In 2022, former President Joe Biden had granted this status to shield them from violence and humanitarian crises plaguing their nation. Today, the US State Department maintains a level-three travel advisory against visiting Ethiopia due to unrest, crime, kidnapping, terrorism, and landmines. Yet the Department of Homeland Security declared in December that conditions there no longer threatened returning nationals with serious safety risks. Human rights organizations say this conclusion does not match reality on the ground. Diana Konate, deputy executive director of policy and advocacy at African Communities Together, told Reuters that the crisis continues and the decision endangers thousands. Judge Murphy had previously halted the administration's efforts while considering issues beyond the Supreme Court's June ruling. He heard claims that only the attorney general could legally end TPS protections before their expiration, not the Department of Homeland Security. Ultimately, he dismissed that legal argument. Tuesday's ruling leaves open an appeal claiming animus drove the Trump administration against specific races or nationalities. The potential impact is severe for communities already struggling with uncertainty and fear of sudden loss of status.