9th Circuit Allows Trump to End TPS for 60,000 Migrants from Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal

A federal appeals court, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, has granted the Trump administration an emergency stay that halts a lower court order preserving Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for about 60,000 immigrants from Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal. This ruling allows the administration to move forward with ending TPS for approximately 7,000 Nepalis whose protections expired in early August, and for 51,000 Hondurans and 3,000 Nicaraguans whose TPS protections are set to expire in September, making them eligible for removal. The lower court, led by Biden-appointed Judge Trina Thompson, had blocked the termination of TPS protections, citing likely violations of the Administrative Procedure Act and alleging that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's decision was motivated by racial animus. Immigrant rights groups argue the administration's termination of TPS is unlawful and will cause irreparable harm to the migrants and their communities, highlighting the long-term residence many have had in the U.S. The Trump administration maintains that conditions in the migrants' home countries have improved sufficiently to justify ending TPS, framing the move as part of a broader deportation strategy. The appeals court's decision pauses the lower court's order pending further appeal, with judges appointed by Clinton, Bush, and Trump involved in the panel.