The bottom line. A federal judge has cleared the way for the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for South Sudanese nationals, a move that ends protections for 232 individuals.
U.S. District Judge Patti Saris, sitting in Massachusetts, turned aside a challenge brought by immigrant advocacy groups, among them African Communities Together, which sought to preserve TPS for South Sudanese people in the United States. The ruling comes after a 6-3 Supreme Court decision in June that permitted the administration to cancel TPS for large numbers of Haitians and Syrians.
The Department of Homeland Security announced in November its intention to rescind TPS for South Sudan, arguing that the conditions that justified the original 2011 designation no longer existed. That decision affects 232 South Sudanese currently protected, as well as at least 73 others whose applications were still pending.
Responding to the ruling, DHS general counsel James Percival wrote in a post on X: "Every other TPS judge must do the same!"
Reasoning Behind the Decision
In a 15-page opinion, Saris determined that the plaintiffs' case rested on a flawed premise, writing that "as a logical matter, plaintiffs' arguments rest upon a self-contradictory, self-defeating foundation." The challengers had contended that DHS lacked the legal authority to end TPS because the 1990 statute that created the program referenced only the attorney general. Saris found that Congress had shifted that authority to DHS upon the department's creation in 2002.
Background of TPS
Temporary Protected Status grants eligible individuals from nations experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions the right to stay in the U.S. on a temporary basis, shields them from removal, and permits them to hold jobs legally. South Sudan has endured prolonged civil war and political turmoil, displacing millions and claiming more than 400,000 lives since the country gained independence in 2011.
What Termination Changes
When a TPS designation ends, the protection from removal and the work authorization tied to it generally lapse on the termination date. Former holders who have no other lawful basis to remain are generally treated as being without status, which under immigration law exposes a person to detention and removal proceedings — including in cases where an asylum application or a green card petition is still pending, since a pending application does not by itself confer status.
Removal orders issued in such proceedings generally carry bars on reentry, the length of which depends on the circumstances of the case.
Immediate Implications
The 232 South Sudanese nationals covered by the designation lose their employment authorization and protection from removal once the termination takes effect.
The at least 73 pending TPS applications become moot with the designation terminated.
The decision follows the same line as the Supreme Court's June ruling permitting TPS termination for Haitians and Syrians.