Federal Judge Allows Trump Administration to End Temporary Protected Status for Somali Nationals

The Trump administration achieved a significant legal milestone Friday when U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston removed a legal barrier preventing the Department of Homeland Security from revoking Temporary Protected Status for Somalia. The judge’s decision relied on a June Supreme Court ruling in Mullin v. Doe that narrowed judicial oversight of such administrative determinations, effectively constraining lower courts’ authority to challenge similar termination orders.

The ruling paves the way for elimination of TPS protections for Somalia, which could force thousands of affected migrants without alternative legal status to face deportation proceedings. The Trump administration announced its intention to terminate the designation in January, with then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asserting that security conditions within Somalia had stabilized sufficiently to justify withdrawing the humanitarian protections.

A coalition of four Somali nationals and two advocacy organizations, including African Communities Together, had challenged the termination through the courts. Plaintiffs contended the administration’s decision discriminated against non-White immigrants, citing previous statements by Trump describing Somalis as “garbage” and possessing “low IQ.”

Though Judge Burroughs acknowledged the plaintiffs presented a “convincing showing” of irreparable harm and found public interest favored maintaining the protections, she concluded the Supreme Court’s precedent limited her ability to sustain the legal block. Approximately 2,471 Somali nationals currently hold TPS status in the United States, with another 1,383 applications pending, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services sources.