Obama-appointed judge hands big win to Trump admin as Somali immigrants lose Temporary Protected Status

U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, delivered the Trump administration a significant legal victory by denying a request for a preliminary injunction and lifting an administrative stay that had kept Somalia’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation in place.

The ruling, issued in Boston, cleared the way for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to formally end Somalia’s TPS designation the same day, removing deportation protection and work authorization for Somali nationals who relied on the program.

What to know

Burroughs’ decision followed months of litigation that began after then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the administration would terminate Somalia’s TPS designation, arguing that conditions in the country had improved enough to make continued protections unnecessary.

The termination was initially scheduled, but Burroughs blocked it after four Somali nationals and two advocacy groups, including African Communities Together, sued to challenge the decision.

The legal landscape shifted in June when the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Mullin v. Doe that federal courts generally lack authority to review the Homeland Security secretary’s decision to terminate a country’s TPS designation, although constitutional challenges remain available.

The ruling limited judges’ ability to review the Trump administration’s efforts to end TPS designations for 13 countries whose nationals had received humanitarian immigration protections.

Burroughs subsequently issued another administrative stay while she considered amended constitutional claims alleging that the termination was motivated by bias against nonwhite immigrants. The plaintiffs cited Trump’s past descriptions of Somalis as “garbage” and “low IQ people” in support of their equal protection argument.

Ultimately, Burroughs concluded that the Supreme Court‘s ruling limited her ability to continue blocking the termination.

The judge’s reasoning

Burroughs wrote that she was “bound … to view things through the Mullin prism,” referring to the Supreme Court’s decision.

While discussing the case with KSTP.com, attorney Tsai said the ruling ultimately came down to a straightforward legal question.

“Ultimately, the central focus is whether or not the Department of Homeland Security has the authority to end temporary protected status,” Tsai said, adding, “According to this June 2026 U.S. Supreme Court decision, they do have that authority.”

Despite ruling against the plaintiffs, Burroughs acknowledged the strength of their case. She wrote that “plaintiffs have made a convincing showing that they will suffer irreparable harm if the injunction is withheld … and the balance of hardships and the public interest also favor Plaintiffs, given that the government has made no showing that maintaining TPS status for the duration of this litigation would impose an undue burden.”

On the discrimination claims, Burroughs wrote that “though Plaintiffs lay out a strong case for why the at-issue statements were racist … the Court cannot discern a path to concluding that Plaintiffs will succeed on the merits of this claim,” citing the Supreme Court’s treatment of a similar discrimination claim in Mullin.

She added that if the government moves to remove or detain former TPS holders, “those enforcement actions will be subject to the protections of the Due Process Clause.”

DHS and political reaction

Earlier Friday, before Burroughs issued her order, DHS General Counsel James Percival publicly criticized the length of her previous administrative stay.

Posting on X, Percival said Burroughs had maintained an “unreasoned” stay for 50 days despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, calling the delay “deliberate sabotage” intended to infringe on executive authority without issuing a clear, appealable order.

DHS reiterated its position in a subsequent X post, saying TPS termination was now in effect for the affected countries and warning those impacted to “LEAVE NOW or be DEPORTED.”

Representative Andy Ogles, who had previously filed articles of impeachment against Burroughs over her handling of the case, portrayed the ruling as a result of political pressure.

Writing on X, Ogles said the judge had “DROPPED her blocking” of the deportations after he filed the impeachment articles, adding that “maximum pressure works” and that “judges who violate the law deserve impeachment.”

Advocates warn of fallout

Council on American-Islamic Relations Minnesota Executive Director Jaylani Hussein criticized the ruling in a statement to Newsweek, calling it “deeply disappointing” but not the end of the legal fight.

Hussein said Somali Americans have faced sustained targeting by the Trump administration and that the decision “only deepens the fear and uncertainty facing our community.”

He also questioned the rationale for ending TPS, noting that the U.S. government classifies Somalia at Level 4, “Do Not Travel,” its highest danger designation. Hussein argued that “ending these protections sets a dangerous precedent that reaches far beyond Somali TPS holders and threatens the future and integrity of the entire TPS program.”

Scale of the impact

Estimates of how many people are affected by the termination vary.

Reuters reported that roughly 1,100 people could lose deportation protection and work authorization, while Nexstar Media estimated that about 700 TPS holders are affected.

Gateway Pundit reported that more than 100,000 Somalis live in the United States, with an estimated 5,000 eligible for TPS.

USCIS confirmed that employment authorization documents issued under categories A12 and C19 for the program are no longer valid following the termination.

Broader TPS rollback

The Somalia decision is part of a broader Trump administration effort to scale back TPS protections across multiple countries.

Two other federal judges had already cleared the way for the administration to terminate TPS for nationals of Burma, also known as Myanmar and South Sudan. Only the termination of TPS for Ethiopia remained blocked by a judge.

Congress created TPS in 1990 to temporarily protect nationals of countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions that make returning unsafe.

Somalia was first designated for TPS in 1991. The Trump administration has argued that the program has increasingly operated beyond its intended temporary purpose, allowing foreign nationals to remain in the United States for extended periods.

The Biden administration most recently renewed Somalia’s designation, citing widespread and ongoing armed conflict.

Noem defended the termination when she announced it in January, saying “temporary means temporary” and that conditions in Somalia “have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law’s requirement for Temporary Protected Status.” She added that allowing Somali nationals to remain in the United States was “contrary to our national interests.”