Judge blocks DHS from canceling deportation amnesty for Ethiopians

A federal judge in the United States blocked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, from terminating a deportation amnesty program for approximately 5,000 Ethiopian nationals, ruling that the government's attempt to end the protection was unjustifiably harsh and procedurally flawed. Judge Brian Murphy, a Biden appointee, issued a preliminary injunction against the plan initiated by former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who had determined that conditions in Ethiopia had sufficiently improved to allow for the safe return of its citizens. In his ruling, Judge Murphy sharply criticized Secretary Noem's decision-making process, suggesting it was "preordained" and violated the spirit of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) law. He noted that Noem had attempted to terminate TPS for all 12 countries under review, not just Ethiopia, indicating a predetermined policy rather than a case-by-case assessment based on country conditions. The judge specifically took issue with Noem's cited rationale that a segment of the Ethiopian TPS population was under investigation for immigration fraud or public safety risks, arguing this was irrelevant to the statutory grounds for TPS, which are based on objective conditions like war, famine, natural disaster, or political instability in the home country. The legal battle over TPS represents a significant ongoing conflict between presidential administrations and the judiciary regarding immigration authority. While designed as a temporary humanitarian measure allowing migrants from crisis-stricken nations to live and work legally in the U.S., TPS has often become a long-term status for hundreds of thousands, particularly from Central America. The Trump administration's previous efforts to wind down the program were similarly stymied by courts, while the Biden administration significantly expanded its use. The Supreme Court is poised to hear related cases concerning TPS terminations for Haiti and Syria later in the month, with its eventual ruling expected to definitively clarify the extent of presidential power in this contentious area of immigration policy.