A federal appeals court has given the Trump administration the go-ahead to end deportation protections and revoke work permits for more than 63,000 immigrants from Nicaragua, Honduras and Nepal, despite a lower court judge’s conclusion that the administration’s action was driven by racism.
A 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel voted, 3-0, Wednesday to grant the Justice Department’s request for an emergency order allowing it to proceed with the termination of Temporary Protected Status for citizens of the three countries while litigation over the issue continues.
The appeals court’s two-page order did not offer a detailed rationale for putting on hold the fiery ruling U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson, a Biden appointee, issued last month.
Thompson said the Trump administration directive to end so-called TPS status for Nicaraguan, Honduran and Nepali immigrants amounted to a repugnant desire to “purify their blood.”
The 9th Circuit panel that stayed Thompson’s ruling consisted of Judge Consuelo Callahan, a George W. Bush appointee, Judge Eric Miller, a Trump appointee, and Judge Michael Hawkins, a Clinton appointee.
During oral arguments before the appeals court panel on Tuesday, Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign said Thompson’s conclusion was based on thin evidence. He dismissed as “ancient” President Donald Trump’s comment from 2023 that immigrants are ”poisoning the blood of our country” and said only a single social media post Thompson mentioned, from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, even related to one of the three countries at issue in the case.
Ensign also argued that courts have no authority to review Noem’s decisions on TPS. He pointed to a May ruling from the Supreme Court allowing DHS to proceed with plans to end the protections for 350,000 Venezuelans, arguing the ruling made clear that the appeals court should allow the wind-down for citizens of Nicaragua, Honduras and Nepal.
Immigrant rights advocate Ahilan Arulanantham said the cases were not analogous, in part because Hondurans and Nicaraguans impacted by the litigation have been in the U.S. for more than 26 years and Nepalis more than 10 years, while Venezuelans gained the protected status more recently.
“The thing we had in the Supreme Court had nothing to do with these at all,” Arulanantham told the judges.
Arulanantham, co-director of the UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy, decried the 9th Circuit ruling Wednesday, particularly the judges’ lack of explanation for their conclusion.
“The court’s failure to provide any reasoning for its decision, including why this was an ‘emergency,’ falls far short of what due process requires, and our clients deserve,” Arulanantham said. “The decision simply sanctions the government’s power grab, exposing tens of thousands of people to illegal detention and deportation. They deserve better than what this court has done today.”
Spokespeople for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment. TPS status for Nepalis was set to expire Aug. 5, so they could be required to leave the country immediately. Protections for Hondurans and Nicaraguans are now set to end Sept. 8, barring further court action.
However, not all of the roughly 63,000 immigrants covered by the ruling Wednesday face the prospect of immediate deportation. Some have pending claims for asylum or withholding of deportation, which could allow them to remain in the U.S.
In its emergency stay request, the Trump administration asked the panel to halt further action in the lawsuit pending in the district court and said the government planned to make a rare request to remove Thompson from the matter, citing her use of “extreme rhetoric with no bearing on this case.”
The 9th Circuit panel declined to put a hold on the proceedings before Thompson, saying such a move wasn’t justified simply because DOJ might move to disqualify her in the future.
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