Federal judge lifts stay on Somalia TPS termination, citing Supreme Court ruling

U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston lifted a stay on the Trump administration's termination of Temporary Protected Status for Somalia on Friday, citing a June Supreme Court ruling that limited judicial review of TPS termination decisions. The Trump administration announced in January that it planned to terminate Somalia's TPS designation, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem arguing that conditions in the country had improved enough to end the humanitarian protections.

The Supreme Court ruled in June in Mullin v. Doe that the TPS statute bars judicial review of certain non-constitutional decisions by the administration to terminate TPS designations. The Court also found in that case that the plaintiffs' equal protection challenge was unlikely to succeed.

Burroughs, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, had previously blocked the termination from taking effect in a lawsuit brought by four Somali nationals and two advocacy groups, including African Communities Together. Plaintiffs challenging the termination argued that the administration's decision was motivated by bias against non-White immigrants, pointing to Trump's previous descriptions of Somalis as 'garbage' and 'low IQ people.' Following the Supreme Court's ruling, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint raising new constitutional claims and sought emergency relief. Burroughs issued an administrative stay earlier this month after the plaintiffs alleged the administration violated the Fifth Amendment by terminating Somalia's TPS designation based on racial and national-origin discrimination.

In her ruling, Burroughs acknowledged the plaintiffs' position. She wrote: 'Plaintiffs have made a convincing showing that they will suffer irreparable harm if the injunction is withheld, and the balance of hardships and the public interest also favor Plaintiffs, given that the government has made no showing that maintaining TPS status for the duration of this litigation would impose an undue burden.' Despite those findings, Burroughs lifted the stay, allowing the administration's termination to move forward. She noted she was 'bound to view things through the Mullin prism,' indicating the Supreme Court's June decision constrained her ability to continue blocking the administration's action.

Sources at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services told Fox News Digital that 2,471 Somali nationals in the U.S. currently have TPS, while another 1,383 have pending TPS applications. The decision allows the Trump administration to move forward with ending TPS for Somalia, potentially exposing affected migrants who lack another lawful basis to remain in the U.S. to deportation. The sources do not specify a timeline for when the actual termination of Somalia's TPS designation will take effect or what options affected Somali nationals have to challenge the termination or seek alternative legal status.