Courts Allow End to TPS for South Sudanese, Myanmar Nationals

Federal judges in Boston and Chicago have cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s administration to end temporary protections from deportation for people who have come to the United States from South Sudan and Myanmar. The rulings came after immigrant-rights advocates failed to maintain Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations following a Supreme Court decision in June that allowed similar protections for thousands of people from Haiti and Syria to be ended.

Judge Patti Saris in Boston and Judge Matthew Kennelly in Chicago rejected arguments by immigrant-rights lawyers that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lacked the authority to terminate TPS. The terminations would end protections for about 232 South Sudanese nationals and roughly 4,000 people from Myanmar.

TPS shields people from deportation and grants work authorization when their home countries are affected by armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions. Advocates have warned that the rulings leave TPS recipients exposed to possible deportation to countries still gripped by conflict and instability. DHS had moved in November 2025 to end TPS for South Sudan, which has held the designation since 2011 amid ongoing conflict, and Myanmar, in political turmoil since a 2021 military coup.

According to The Guardian, James Percival, General Counsel of DHS, said the new rulings leave only TPS terminations for Ethiopian and Somalian nationals, which are still blocked by courts. The immigrant advocacy organization Global Refuge condemned the ruling, stating that South Sudan is on the brink of a return to all-out civil war.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Haitians face imminent risk of arrest and deportation after the Trump administration officially stripped them of humanitarian protections. US District Judge Ana Reyes confirmed that her order blocking DHS from ending TPS for Haiti was no longer in effect. The Supreme Court ruling in June opened the door for immigration enforcement to track down and detain Haitians en masse.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said his department is 'going after them right now,' giving Haitians the choice between self-deportation or arrest and deportation. More than 300,000 Haitians have lost TPS permission overnight and could face deportation if they have not applied for another form of immigration relief.

TPS holders are eligible for work permits and have added an estimated $262 billion to the US economy since 2001. The thought of returning to Haiti's life-threatening conditions is 'unimaginable' for many Haitians in the US, according to The Guardian. Thousands of Syrians may also be at risk of repatriation after losing TPS and their affiliated work permits.