A federal judge has allowed the Trump administration to end legal protections granted to over 5,000 Ethiopians that have allowed them to live and work in the United States. After months of litigation, the barrier to DHS termination of Ethiopia’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation has now fallen.
What changed
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston lifted the last remaining judicial block on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security terminating the Temporary Protected Status designation. The judge had previously issued multiple temporary stays and injunctions blocking DHS’s termination effort in January, February, and April 2026. On Tuesday, August 18, he dissolved those orders.
The Supreme Court’s ruling, powered by its 6-3 conservative majority, curtailed the ability of judges to review DHS efforts under Trump to end TPS designations for 13 countries. That shift in the law opened the door for Murphy to reconsider his earlier blocks. Judges in similar cases involving people from South Sudan, Myanmar and Somalia have rejected statutory authority arguments in recent days, and Murphy did as well on Tuesday.
Importantly, Murphy said he would allow the plaintiffs to continue to litigate over whether DHS’s action was motivated by racial or national origin animus—a claim that remains alive even as the injunction was lifted.
Why it matters
This ruling removes the final judicial barrier to TPS termination for Ethiopians. About 5,000 Ethiopians who had been living in the United States under a form of humanitarian relief are now at immediate risk of losing work authorization and deportation protections.
The Biden administration in 2022 granted certain citizens of Ethiopia who recently arrived to the US an 18-month temporary protection from deportation. Those protections were again extended in 2024 by then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas because of the ongoing conflict.
Practitioners advising Ethiopian nationals must now assume termination will proceed. The decision does not specify a new effective date, but practitioners should monitor DHS announcements closely for the implementation timeline. Unlike prior stays, there is now no injunction preventing DHS from setting and enforcing a termination date.
The underlying equal protection and procedural arguments will continue in litigation, but they will no longer block the agency’s action going forward.
Way forward
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Immediate status review: If you represent an Ethiopian national with TPS, confirm their current status and expiration date immediately. Do not assume the old effective date (February 13, 2026) applies.
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Document filed claims: Ensure all prior filings and extension requests are documented. Affected individuals should preserve records of work authorization usage and any derivative benefits granted to family members.
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Explore alternative relief: Evaluate whether affected clients may qualify for asylum, VAWA, U visa, T visa, or other forms of relief before TPS terminates. Build evidentiary records now if applicable.
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Monitor for implementation notice: Watch the DHS website and the Federal Register for an announcement of the new termination effective date and any cure period. Prepare clients for the possibility of forced departure or need to identify alternative legal status options.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. The information reflects announcements and court filings as of the date published. Immigration policy and court decisions can change without notice, and the legal landscape continues to evolve. You must consult a licensed immigration attorney to understand how these developments affect your specific situation. Verify all information against the primary source documents linked above before taking any action on behalf of a client or for yourself.