Federal Judge Allows Trump Administration to Move Forward With Ending Protected Status for Nearly 1,100 Somalis
A federal judge in Massachusetts has cleared the way for the Trump administration to move forward with ending Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for nearly 1,100 Somalis living in the United States. The decision marks a significant development in a legal battle over the administration’s broader effort to reduce the number of immigrants covered by the humanitarian protection program.
The ruling came from U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston. In August, she allowed the Department of Homeland Security to proceed with terminating Somalia’s TPS designation after previously blocking the termination while the case was being litigated. The decision followed a June Supreme Court ruling concerning TPS protections for Haiti and Syria that changed the legal landscape surrounding challenges to the administration’s actions.
The dispute has attracted considerable attention because TPS provides qualifying nationals of designated countries with temporary protection from deportation and authorization to work legally in the United States. The program is intended for people who are already in the country when conditions in their home nations make return unsafe because of armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances.
For Somali TPS holders, the latest ruling could therefore have major consequences. Losing TPS does not automatically mean that every affected person will immediately be deported, but it removes a specific federal protection that has allowed eligible individuals to remain in the United States and work lawfully while the designation was active.
The Trump administration announced the termination of Somalia’s TPS designation in January 2026. Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the government had determined that Somalia no longer met the legal conditions required for the designation. The administration has argued that circumstances in Somalia had improved sufficiently to justify ending the protection.
The decision has been challenged by Somali TPS holders and immigrant advocacy organizations. Plaintiffs argued that the administration’s decision was legally flawed and alleged that racial and national-origin bias played a role in the termination. They also pointed to statements Trump had previously made about Somali immigrants as evidence they believed supported their claims. Those allegations remain part of the litigation and are disputed by the administration.
The case began earlier in 2026 when the March 17 effective date of the termination was approaching. Judge Burroughs initially stepped in and temporarily blocked the termination, meaning Somali TPS holders retained their protections while the court reviewed the legal challenge.
In a March 13 order, Burroughs stayed the termination and explicitly stated that, while the stay remained in effect, the terminatio
