WASHINGTON DC: A United States appeals court has opened the way for deportation proceedings by allowing the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from Nepal, Honduras and Nicaragua.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ruled that a previous federal court order blocking the implementation of the TPS termination will remain suspended while the appeal is under review. The decision permits the Trump administration to move forward with enforcing its decision to end TPS for nationals of the three countries.
The Trump administration had decided last year to terminate TPS for thousands of Honduran, Nepali and Nicaraguan nationals. With the termination, beneficiaries will lose the legal right to live and work in the United States under the program.
According to the court order, the earlier injunction preventing the termination of TPS for Nepal, Honduras and Nicaragua will not remain in effect even as the appeal process continues.
TPS allows immigrants to temporarily live and work in the United States when returning to their home countries is considered unsafe due to war, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions. More than 51,000 Honduran citizens and nearly 3,000 Nicaraguans were granted TPS following the devastating Hurricane Mitch in Central America in 1998. Similarly, around 7,000 Nepali nationals received TPS after the devastating earthquake in 2015.
Previous US administrations had repeatedly renewed TPS for these immigrant groups. However, the Trump administration has argued that TPS should not be used as a permanent program, prioritizing a broader campaign of mass deportation.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Monday that TPS was never designed to be permanent. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the decision to end TPS was based on an assessment that conditions in the concerned countries have improved, allowing their citizens to return home safely.
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