An appeals court has ruled that the Trump administration can move forward with ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 60,000 individuals from Nicaragua, Honduras, and Nepal.
TPS is a federal program that offers temporary protection from deportation to nationals from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions.
This decision reverses a previous lower court ruling that had blocked the administration from ending these protections.
The appeals court sided with the administration’s argument that conditions in the affected countries have improved and that continued TPS designations were no longer justified.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the ruling could affect roughly:
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57,000 Hondurans
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9,000 Nepalese
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5,000 Nicaraguans
Many of these individuals have lived and worked in the U.S. for years and have deep ties to their communities, including U.S. citizen children.
Critics of the ruling warn it could lead to widespread disruption for families and communities, highlighting the economic and social contributions of TPS holders. Advocacy groups argue that conditions in the countries named remain unstable and that deporting individuals could place them at risk.
Supporters of the administration’s move point to the original intent of TPS as a temporary measure. They argue that extending it indefinitely undermines the integrity of immigration law and that it is Congress—not executive action—that should address long-term immigration solutions.