A federal judge in the United States has determined that the current administration may proceed with revoking Temporary Protected Status protections for more than 5,000 Ethiopian nationals residing in the country. The decision, issued on Tuesday by US District Judge Brian Murphy, eliminates the last remaining court-imposed pause that had blocked the government from ending TPS designations for individuals from Ethiopia.
Temporary Protected Status allows foreign nationals to remain in the United States and obtain work authorization when conditions in their home countries are deemed unsafe for return. The Ethiopian population had been granted this protection in 2022 under the previous administration amid concerns regarding violent conflict and humanitarian conditions. The current administration announced its intention to terminate this status in December, asserting that security conditions in Ethiopia no longer posed significant danger to returning nationals.
The ruling comes following a June Supreme Court decision that narrowed judicial oversight of Temporary Protected Status terminations, initially concerning recipients from Syria and Haiti but with broader implications for all TPS populations. Administration officials have signaled their support for the decision and indicated that all TPS terminations are now enforceable. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayle Mullin warned that individuals whose status has been revoked are in the country unlawfully and must depart immediately or face deportation.
The current administration has sought to end Temporary Protected Status for at least 13 nationalities as part of a broader immigration restriction initiative. According to the Pew Research Center, these revocations may affect approximately one million individuals who held this status. The administration has characterized the repeated extensions to the TPS program as having transformed it from a temporary measure into a long-term arrangement.
However, advocacy organizations and critics have expressed concerns that the terminations do not align with current conditions in affected countries. The US State Department currently maintains a level-three travel advisory for Ethiopia, citing concerns about unrest, crime, kidnapping, terrorism, and landmines. Representatives of rights groups have contended that terminating protections for Ethiopian nationals places thousands of people at serious risk of harm.
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