By Otobong Gabriel, Abuja
A federal judge has blocked the U.S. government’s attempt to terminate deportation protections for Ethiopian nationals, delaying a February 13 deadline that could have affected roughly 5,000 people.
The ruling comes amid ongoing legal challenges to the Trump administration’s broader immigration policies.
A federal judge halted Trump administration’s plan to strip deportation protections from thousands of Ethiopians living in the United States.
Judge Brian Murphy in Boston issued the order on Friday, delaying a February 13 deadline that would have forced more than 5,000 Ethiopians to leave the country or face arrest.
The ruling represents the latest legal setback to the administration’s broader push to end temporary protections for more than one million people across multiple countries.
Murphy’s decision came during a virtual hearing, where he said the delay would provide time for the Department of Homeland Security to produce records explaining its decision-making process before he considers blocking the move for longer.
“I want to do everything I can to keep this case going,” the judge said.
The case was brought by three Ethiopian nationals and the advocacy group African Communities Together, who filed suit after the DHS announced in December it was terminating the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) first granted to Ethiopia in 2022.
The lawsuit argues the administration unlawfully ended the protections with just 60 days’ notice despite ongoing armed conflict in the African nation.
Plaintiffs also argue that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem acted with an “unconstitutional animus against non‑white immigrants,” saying the decision was rooted in discriminatory intent rather than sound policy.
The decision to end the protections came even as the U.S. State Department continues to warn Americans against travel to Ethiopia due to “sporadic violent conflict, civil unrest, crime, communications disruptions, terrorism and kidnapping,” underscoring ongoing instability in the country.
In defending the termination of protections, the Department of Homeland Security pointed to recent peace agreements, including a 2022 ceasefire in Tigray, even though fighting has flared again in parts of the region this month.
The judge’s ruling follows a similar decision just a day earlier, when a federal appeals court found that the administration had unlawfully rescinded protections for some 600,000 Venezuelan nationals. That three‑judge panel said Noem’s actions were driven by “racist stereotyping” and left many in a “constant state of fear” about deportation.
As part of the Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown, terminations of Temporary Protected Status now loom for around a dozen countries. Some 350,000 Haitian nationals are scheduled to lose protections on February 3, and Somalis face a March 17 deadline even as the State Department maintains a “Do Not Travel” advisory for Somalia.
These legal fights are unfolding against a backdrop of intense protests across the United States over the administration’s deportation efforts protests that have escalated following the killing of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis, sparking nationwide demonstrations and criticism of aggressive tactics.
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