A federal judge in Massachusetts has temporarily maintained a pause on the federal government’s effort to end Temporary Protected Status for Somali nationals residing in the United States, ordering an expedited briefing schedule to address the ongoing legal challenge.
U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs issued an order Tuesday instructing civil rights groups and individual plaintiffs to respond to a Department of Homeland Security motion seeking to lift an administrative stay on the termination.
The directive comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit instructed the district court to rule promptly on the matter.
The legal battle stems from a lawsuit filed in March 2026 by advocacy organizations, including African Communities Together and the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans, alongside four individual Somali TPS recipients and applicants using pseudonyms.
The complaint challenges the decision by the Department of Homeland Security to terminate Somalia’s TPS designation, which was announced in the Federal Register on January 14, 2026.
The initial lawsuit named then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem as a defendant, citing statements made by President Donald Trump regarding the Somali community and alleging violations of the Administrative Procedure Act and the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment.
Markwayne Mullin has since been automatically substituted as the lead defendant in his official capacity as DHS Secretary.
Under the initial agency announcement, the designation was scheduled to expire at 11:59 p.m. on March 17, 2026, affecting roughly 1,082 current TPS holders and 1,383 individuals with pending applications.
In her four-page order, Judge Burroughs outlined the procedural history of the case, noting that proceedings were previously paused by agreement of both parties awaiting the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Mullin v. Doe, which was handed down in late June 2026. Following that decision, plaintiffs sought to amend their pleadings to introduce updated claims.
Addressing the government’s objections to the timeline, Judge Burroughs highlighted the potential impact of revoking the protections.
“The Court’s decision to enter an administrative stay was informed by the fact that if or when the revocation of TPS takes effect, over a thousand people may face ‘grave risks . . . of severe physical violence’ if removed to a country suffering a humanitarian crisis that has led the President to refer to it as one of the ‘most dangerous’ in the world, as well as ‘forced separation from community and family in the United States . . . including their minor, U.S. citizen children,'” Burroughs wrote.
Under the amended scheduling order, the government and the plaintiffs must submit their respective briefs on the stay and supplemental issues by 5:00 p.m. on August 5, 2026. The plaintiffs have until 5:00 p.m. on August 6, 2026, to file any reply.
The court indicated it expects to issue a ruling on the motion to lift the stay alongside a decision on the plaintiffs’ emergency motion for preliminary relief early next week.
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