US judge allows Ethiopia TPS termination to proceed

A US federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration can move ahead with ending Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopians, removing the final judicial block to the policy change. The decision affects more than 5,000 people who had been shielded from deportation under the programme. It marks a significant step in the administration's wider effort to end TPS protections for multiple nationalities.

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US District Judge Brian Murphy gave the government permission on Tuesday to terminate Ethiopia's TPS designation. According to the ruling, the legal protection allows foreign nationals in the United States to remain in the country and apply for work authorisation when conditions in their home country are considered unsafe or unstable. A senior official at the Department of Homeland Security said the stay on Ethiopia TPS termination had been lifted and that all TPS terminations were now in effect.

The ruling has immediate consequences for Ethiopians who relied on the programme to avoid deportation. It also follows a June Supreme Court decision that limited judicial review of TPS terminations, making it harder for courts to block such actions. The latest decision therefore strengthens the administration's ability to carry out its immigration agenda, which has included efforts to reduce the use of TPS and increase deportations.

Temporary Protected Status has become a central issue in the broader debate over US immigration policy. As of March, about 1.29 million people were living in the United States under TPS protection across 17 countries. The administration has sought to end protections for at least 13 nationalities, including people from Venezuela, Nicaragua, South Sudan and Somalia.

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Officials have argued that repeated extensions have turned a temporary programme into a long-term status, while critics have raised concerns about conditions in the countries affected. The Ethiopia case is part of a wider legal and political pattern that has developed since Donald Trump returned to office for a second term in 2025. The Supreme Court ruling in June, although focused on TPS recipients from Syria and Haiti, had broader implications for other nationalities challenging terminations.

That made Tuesday's decision especially important because it removed the last court barrier specific to Ethiopia TPS. It also shows how quickly the administration is moving to implement terminations once judicial obstacles are cleared. What remains unclear is how quickly the termination will be carried out and what practical steps affected Ethiopians will now face.

The ruling does not resolve the wider debate over whether conditions in Ethiopia are safe enough for return, and it may still prompt further legal or political responses. For now, the key issue is that the government has been given the green light to end the protection, with the impact likely to be felt by thousands of people already living and working in the United States.

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