A federal judge on Friday paved the way for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections for South Sudanese nationals currently living and working in the United States. U.S. District Judge Patti Saris in Massachusetts ruled that the DHS may proceed with ending TPS for South Sudan, rejecting a renewed effort by immigrant-rights advocates to preserve the designation.
The decision comes after the U.S. Supreme Court in June allowed the Trump administration to end similar protections for nationals of Haiti and Syria. The high court’s 6-3 ruling in Mullin v. Doe curtailed lower courts’ ability to block DHS from terminating TPS designations, setting a precedent that has since influenced other cases.
Work permits for South Sudanese TPS holders are set to expire on August 10, pending any further court action, according to a notice from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The DHS previously determined that South Sudan no longer meets the conditions for TPS, citing the end of its civil war and the absence of an ongoing armed conflict posing a serious threat to returnees.
Judge Saris’ 15-page order stated that plaintiffs had no remaining liberty or property interests under TPS protections and that their newly proposed claims would be futile. The ruling aligns with the Supreme Court’s June decision, which held that federal immigration law bars courts from reviewing DHS decisions to end TPS for foreign nationals.
The DHS has argued that TPS was never intended to be a permanent solution and that its termination is required when conditions in a designated country improve. In a statement last year, the agency said the end of South Sudan’s TPS designation was necessary because it was “contrary to the national interest” to allow nationals to remain temporarily in the U.S.
Immigrant-rights advocates have condemned the decision, warning that thousands of long-term residents—many of whom have lived in the U.S. for over a decade—face potential deportation. Lupe Aguirre, deputy director of U.S. litigation at the International Refugee Assistance Project, called the ruling part of a broader campaign to strip protections, stating, “The Supreme Court ruling on TPS has resulted in thousands of people losing their protections with each decision from lower courts severely constrained from intervening.”
The DHS has framed the termination of TPS as an effort to prevent abuse of the program, with a spokesperson asserting that TPS was “never designed to be permanent” and had been misused to admit individuals with criminal or national security concerns. The agency’s general counsel, James Percival, celebrated the court decisions on social media, arguing that every day administrative stays remain in effect denies the American people the policies they voted for.
South Sudan has experienced prolonged conflict since gaining independence in 2011, including a civil war from 2013 to 2018 that displaced millions. The DHS’s notice cited the stabilization of conditions in the country as a key factor in its decision to terminate TPS. The agency’s review concluded that there is no longer an ongoing armed conflict posing a serious threat to the safety of returning nationals.