By Enyichukwu Enemanna
A federal judge in California has temporarily halted deportations of Hondurans, Nepalese and Nicaraguans whose legal protections have been revoked by the US President, Donald Trump’s administration.
“The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American dream. That is all Plaintiffs seek,” District Judge Trina Thompson said in a 37-page order on Thursday.
“Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood,” the San Francisco-based judge said. “The Court disagrees.”
Trump had last month announced the revocation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from more than 51,000 Hondurans and 3,000 Nicaraguans who came to the United States after Hurricane Mitch devastated the Central American nations in 1998.
The United States grants TPS to foreign citizens who cannot safely return to their nations of origin because of war, natural disasters or other “extraordinary” conditions.
At least 7,000 Nepalese currently have TPS protection following a 2015 earthquake in the Asian nation.
In addition to Hondurans, Nepalese and Nicaraguans, the Trump administration has also revoked TPS for hundreds of thousands of Afghans, Cameroonians, Haitians and Venezuelans. These steps are currently being challenged in court.
While announcing the revocation of the TPS, the Department of Homeland Security has said it was doing so because conditions have improved in those countries to the point where their nationals can return home safely.
“Temporary Protected Status was designed to be just that — temporary,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.
The judge ordered the TPS terminations of Hondurans, Nepalese and Nicaraguans to remain on hold until she holds a hearing on November 18 on the merits of a lawsuit challenging the move.
In her order, the judge said the termination of TPS was “based on a preordained determination to end the TPS program, rather than an objective review of the country conditions.”
She also said it may be motivated by “racial animus” and referenced a 2024 campaign statement by President Donald Trump who said migrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.”
“Color is neither a poison nor a crime,” the judge said.
Trump during his campaigns in 2024 pledged to carry out the largest deportation campaign in US history and curb immigration, mainly from Latin American nations.
