A federal appeals court delivered a major legal victory to the Trump administration on Monday, ruling that the Department of Homeland Security can move forward with ending deportation protections for nearly 90,000 migrants from Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua living in the United States.
A unanimous three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals said a lower court judge erred when she blocked the administration from terminating Temporary Protected Status for migrants from the three countries, The New York Post reported.
The ruling overturned a December order issued by U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson in San Francisco that had temporarily stopped the policy from taking effect.
“The government is likely to prevail in its argument that the Secretary’s decision-making process in terminating TPS for Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal was not arbitrary and capricious,” the appeals court wrote in its decision.
The panel said the administrative record supports the decision and that federal law does not require DHS to consider changes in country conditions that occurred after the original TPS designations were made.
The court further ruled that DHS did not engage in an unexplained change in policy by declining to weigh those later developments.
Temporary Protected Status has existed since the 1990s and provides humanitarian relief to migrants from countries affected by armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions.
The program allows eligible migrants to remain in the United States temporarily and obtain authorization to work legally.
Honduras and Nicaragua were designated for TPS following Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which devastated both countries and killed nearly 7,300 people.
Nepal was added to the program in 2015 after a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the country.
🚨MAGA WIN🚨
The court rules in favor of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
The latest ruling says Noem has the authority to terminate Temporary Protected Status of migrants. pic.twitter.com/iLm9n0X8WA
— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) February 9, 2026
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem praised the ruling, calling it a victory for the Constitution and the rule of law.
“Under the previous administration, Temporary Protected Status was abused to allow violent terrorists, criminals, and national security threats into our nation,” Noem wrote in a post on X.
She said TPS was never intended to be permanent and accused prior administrations of turning the program into a de facto amnesty.
“Given the improved situation in each of these countries, we are wisely concluding what was intended to be a temporary designation,” Noem added.
A federal judge in December temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from ending deportation protections for about 200 South Sudanese nationals while a legal challenge proceeds.
U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley, a Biden appointee, said the order does not address the underlying merits of the case but is intended to preserve the status quo.
As such, it allows the migrants to remain in the United States until the court can more fully consider the arguments, The Hill reported.
“Because of the serious consequences at stake, both for the Plaintiffs and the Defendants, the Court finds an administrative stay appropriate, as it would ‘minimize harm,’ while allowing the assigned District Court Judge the time this case deserves,” Kelley wrote in her four-page ruling.
The judge said she will issue a new ruling after reviewing written briefs from the parties, which are due by Jan. 13.
Temporary Protected Status allows nationals of designated countries to remain in the United States and obtain work authorization when conditions such as armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances make return unsafe.
South Sudan was first designated for TPS in 2011 after gaining independence. The country has since faced ongoing instability and violence, and the U.S. State Department currently advises Americans to avoid travel there.
Court filings indicate that approximately 232 South Sudanese nationals are currently covered by TPS, The Hill noted further.
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