A federal judge in California struck a major blow to the Trump administration’s immigration agenda on Wednesday, voiding the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 60,000 immigrants from Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua.
In a scathing 52-page order issued on New Year’s Eve, U.S. District Judge Trina L. Thompson ruled that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s move to end the humanitarian protections was unlawful, labeling the process a “pre-ordained decision” driven by politics rather than the required safety analysis.
The ruling in National TPS Alliance v. Noem effectively reinstates legal status for tens of thousands of long-term U.S. residents who faced the prospect of deportation as early as 2025.
“Pre-Ordained” Outcomes and Skewed Data
Judge Thompson granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs on claims that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Under federal law, the Secretary must conduct a bona fide review of country conditions—such as natural disasters or armed conflict—before terminating a designation.
However, evidence presented to the court revealed that the decision to terminate the programs had effectively been made before any research was conducted. Judge Thompson noted that Secretary Noem had drafted decision memos terminating TPS for Honduras and Nicaragua by April 7, 2025, despite internal emails acknowledging that the State Department had not yet provided the necessary country condition reports.
“The record specifically reflects that, before taking office, the Secretary made a pre-ordained decision to end TPS and influenced the conditions review process to facilitate TPS terminations,” Thompson wrote.
Internal communications cited in the order showed DHS personnel instructing researchers to “only include around 1 page of country conditions” and to focus solely on “improvements,” while explicitly ignoring negative factors like environmental concerns or corruption.
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Racial Animus and “Bad Genes”
While the judge’s ruling to void the terminations relied on procedural failures under the APA, the court also allowed the plaintiffs’ claims regarding racial discrimination to survive a motion to dismiss. The lawsuit alleges the termination decisions were motivated by unconstitutional animus toward non-white immigrants.
The court order highlights specific statistics and rhetoric used by the administration to justify the policy shifts. While the administration characterized TPS holders as threats to national security, internal DHS data regarding the Nepal designation revealed a statistical reality at odds with that narrative. Out of 12,859 total cases reviewed for Nepal, DHS found only 1 instance of fraud.
Judge Thompson contrasted these low fraud numbers with public statements made by administration officials. The order cites President Trump’s comments regarding migrants “poisoning the blood of our country” and his assertion that murderers have “bad genes.” It also references Secretary Noem’s description of migration as an “invasion happening on purpose.”
Because the plaintiffs plausibly alleged that these views influenced the policy process, Judge Thompson denied the government’s request to throw out the Equal Protection claims, though she stayed further litigation on them since the terminations were already voided on statutory grounds.
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Human Impact
The ruling preserves the work permits and deportation protections for thousands who have lived in the U.S. for decades.
Among the plaintiffs is Denis Molina, a 49-year-old native of Honduras who has lived in the U.S. since 1997. A pastor and father of four, Molina supports two children diagnosed with autism. The court noted that if forced to return to Honduras, Molina’s children would lose access to development programs essential for their care.
Another plaintiff, Sandhya Lama, is a 43-year-old executive at Amazon who arrived from Nepal in 2008. She is the sole provider for three U.S. citizen children.
A “Bizarre and Half-Baked Scheme”
The court rejected the government’s argument that the Secretary only needs to look at the specific event that caused the original TPS designation—such as a hurricane 20 years ago—while ignoring current instability.
Judge Thompson wrote that the government’s interpretation would allow them to send people back to a country with “no functioning government, no running water, [and] dismantled infrastructure,” simply because the original floodwaters had receded. She declined to read the statute to support such a “bizarre and half-baked scheme.”
The court also found that the administration unlawfully broke from a 22-year agency practice of providing a 6-to-18-month orderly transition period. The Trump administration had offered only 60 days for beneficiaries to arrange their affairs before losing status.
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