On Oct. 3, California Judge Edward Chen stopped the government from ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from Sudan, El Salvador, Haiti and Nicaragua. This is a preliminary (temporary) injunction or order, not a permanent one. But it indicates this judge believes there’s a good chance the immigrants will succeed in their case against the government. The case is Ramos v. Nielsen.
TPS is a program that allows certain foreign nationals from countries to remain in the U.S., usually for 18 months at a time, if war or natural disaster strikes their country while they’re in the U.S. They’re also allowed to work. Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, Nepal, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia, and Yemen are the countries that currently meet the requirements. TPS is often renewed and in some cases it’s been renewed for over 20 years. Further details are at the USCIS website.
In the past, the government looked at the current conditions of the country, not just the original reason for the TPS designation, when they decided whether to renew TPS. For example, Haiti was designated for TPS in 2010 following a devastating earthquake. Even though a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo said post-earthquake recovery efforts were “one step forward, two steps back” the recommendation was made to end TPS. In all cases, DHS decided to ignore whether current, unrelated conditions made the country unsafe to return to, and said if the original reason no longer existed, TPS was to end. Legally they changed the criteria for renewing TPS but failed to acknowledge the change or to explain it in any way. The immigrants argued this is contrary to the requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act, and the judge indicated he thought they would succeed in this claim.
The immigrants also claim deliberate discrimination or ‘racial animus’ in ending TPS. They referred to many statements made by President Trump before and since he became President, including saying he didn’t want people from “shithole countries” to immigrate here – he wanted more immigrants like Norwegians, in other words, well-educated and most importantly, white people.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a permanent order. The judge wants to expedite the trial. Even if the immigrants win before Judge Chen, the losing side can appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal, and ultimately to the Supreme Court. With the current Supreme Court, most immigration advocates aren’t optimistic TPS will continue for these immigrants in the end but it’s not ending yet. There are several other cases involving TPS in process so watch for developments.
