US Judge Blocks Trump Bid to End Deportation Protections for Ethiopians

A U.S. federal judge blocked efforts by Donald Trump’s administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for over 5,000 Ethiopians, allowing them to continue living and working in the United States. The court ruled in favor of migrants who argued that ongoing conflict in Ethiopia makes return unsafe and that the policy change was unjustified.

Ethiopian nationals in the United States have secured a significant legal victory against efforts by the administration of Donald Trump to end their deportation protections. A U.S. federal judge on Wednesday, April 8, blocked a move to terminate legal safeguards granted to more than 5,000 Ethiopians under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programme.
TPS, a policy introduced in 1990, allows eligible migrants to live and work in the United States while shielding them from deportation. It is typically granted to individuals from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions that make it unsafe for them to return. Over the years, the programme has supported thousands of migrants from regions including Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
The ruling by District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston represents a major setback for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s attempt to revoke these protections. It also follows an earlier temporary order issued by the same judge on January 30, which had already halted plans to end TPS protections for Ethiopians that were scheduled to take effect on February 13.
The push to terminate TPS forms part of a broader immigration crackdown tied to the “America First” policy agenda associated with Trump. Under this approach, the administration has sought to roll back TPS protections for nationals of at least 13 countries, including Somalia, Sudan, Cameroon, and South Sudan, arguing that the programme was never intended to provide a pathway to long-term residency.
However, the court case—filed by three Ethiopian nationals alongside the advocacy group African Communities Together—challenged the government’s justification. The plaintiffs argued that the administration ignored ongoing instability in Ethiopia, where armed conflict and humanitarian challenges persist in several regions. They further alleged that the decision to terminate TPS was driven by unconstitutional bias against non-White immigrants rather than objective assessments of safety conditions.
Ethiopians in the United States were first granted TPS in 2022 under the administration of Joe Biden, citing the need to protect individuals from the effects of conflict and humanitarian crises in their home country. The protections were later extended in April 2024. Despite this, the Trump administration announced in December that it intended to end the programme for Ethiopians, claiming that conditions in Ethiopia had improved sufficiently to allow their safe return.
The legal battle reflects broader tensions over U.S. immigration policy and the future of TPS, which has become a critical lifeline for many migrants facing instability in their home countries. Similar challenges are ongoing, including a case filed by Somali nationals in March seeking to block efforts to terminate their own TPS protections.
The court’s decision ensures that, for now, thousands of Ethiopians can continue to live and work in the United States without fear of deportation, while the wider legal and political debate over immigration protections continues.