Judge halts Ethiopia TPS termination, says Trump admin ignored required process

A federal judge has postponed the Trump administration’s termination of temporary protected status (TPS) for Ethiopia.

“Plaintiffs brought suit to challenge the lawfulness of the termination, arguing that Defendants had violated the TPS statute, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Equal Protection Clause. Before the Court is Plaintiffs’ motion to postpone the effective date of the termination pending resolution of the merits. Because Defendants terminated Ethiopia’s TPS designation without regard for the process delineated by Congress, the Court will grant Plaintiffs’ motion,” Judge Brian Murphy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts wrote.

The judge was nominated by then-President Joe Biden in 2024, according to the court’s website.

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U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to address the nation from the Cross Hall of the White House on April 1, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)

Last year, then-Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem issued a notice indicating that the TPS designation for Ethiopia would be terminated as of Feb. 13 at 11:59 p.m. But that move did not take effect, as it was stymied amid legal wranglings.

“Fundamental to this case — and indeed to our constitutional system — is the principle that the will of the President does not supersede that of Congress. Presidential whims do not and cannot supplant agencies’ statutory obligations,” Murphy wrote in the April 8 memorandum and order.

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Then-U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem delivers remarks during a working lunch at the “Shield of the Americas” Summit at Trump National Doral in Miami, Fla., on March 7, 2026. (Rebecca Blackwell / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

“The Constitution requires that the President ‘take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,’ a directive which includes enforcing the laws in accordance with congressional commands. And administrative agencies granted executive authority by Congress may operate only within the bounds Congress has set. Yet, in this case, Defendants have disregarded both that foundational principle and the statutory scheme enacted by Congress,” he asserted.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and DHS for comment on Thursday.

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The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) logo on a smartphone. (Jaque Silva/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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“This stay by radical, Biden-appointed Judge Brian Murphy is just the latest example of judicial activists trying to prevent President Trump from restoring integrity to America’s legal immigration system,” DHS asserted in a statement provided to CBS News. “Temporary means temporary. Country conditions — including armed conflicts —in Ethiopia have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law’s requirement for Temporary Protected Status. The Trump administration is putting Americans first.”