A federal judge in the United States has issued a significant ruling, blocking the Trump administration's plans to terminate a vital deportation protection scheme for hundreds of South Sudanese nationals residing in the country.
Court Grants Emergency Request
On Tuesday, US District Judge Angel Kelley in Boston granted an emergency request that prevents the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for South Sudanese migrants from expiring as scheduled after 5 January. The request was filed by four migrants from South Sudan alongside the non-profit organisation African Communities Together.
The group had launched a lawsuit arguing that the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) move to end the protections was unlawful. They contended it would force individuals to return to a nation still grappling with severe humanitarian crises following years of devastating conflict.
Background of the Temporary Protected Status
The United States first designated South Sudan for TPS in 2011, the year it gained independence. This status is offered to nationals of countries afflicted by armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary conditions. It provides beneficiaries with legal authorisation to work and crucial shelter from deportation.
According to the court filings, approximately 232 South Sudanese nationals are current beneficiaries of this programme in the US, with a further 73 applications pending. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem published a notice on 5 November seeking to terminate South Sudan's TPS designation, asserting the country no longer met the necessary conditions due to "renewed peace".
Legal Challenge and Ongoing Humanitarian Concerns
The lawsuit strongly challenges the DHS's assessment. It alleges the agency violated the statute governing TPS by ignoring the dire situation on the ground in South Sudan. The nation has been ravaged by conflict since 2011, with fighting persisting in many regions despite the formal end of a five-year civil war in 2018—a conflict estimated to have claimed 400,000 lives.
The legal action also claims the termination was motivated by discrimination against non-white migrants, constituting a violation of the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution. This case forms part of a broader pattern of court challenges against the administration's efforts to end TPS for several nations, including Syria, Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, and Nicaragua.
In a statement prior to the ruling, a DHS spokesperson defended the move, stating, "With the renewed peace in South Sudan, their demonstrated commitment to ensuring the safe reintegration of returning nationals, and improved diplomatic relations, now is the right time to conclude what was always intended to be a temporary designation."
Judge Kelley's order ensures that, for now, the affected South Sudanese migrants retain their protected status while the legal proceedings continue.
