Obama-appointed judge ruling on immigration 'turns the system on its head,' warns former DHS official
Former acting DHS deputy secretary Ken Cuccinelli weighs in on President Donald Trump being blocked from revoking migrants' legal status, on 'The Will Cain Show.'
A federal judge in California delayed the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) decision to terminate protections for immigrants from three countries, a move that adds to the legal hurdles for the Trump administration as it pushes to carry out its deportation agenda.
Judge Trina Thompson said that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s terminations of temporary protected status, also known as TPS, for immigrants from Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal were likely "preordained decisions" that violated the Administrative Procedure Act and were driven by racial animus.
"The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American dream. That is all Plaintiffs seek," Thompson, a Biden-appointee, wrote in an order. "Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood. The Court disagrees."
Thompson later added: "Color is neither a poison nor a crime."
DHS TERMINATES TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR AROUND 76K HONDURAN, NICARAGUAN MIGRANTS
President Donald Trump speaks with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem as they tour a migrant detention center, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," located at the site of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida on July 1, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
The attorneys cited dozens of examples of Trump or Noem describing migrants as MS-13 gang members, murderers, terrorists and people who have it in their "genes" to commit crime. They pointed to Trump’s viral debate moment in which he made the unproven claim that Haitian immigrants were eating Ohioans' house pets.
The TPS program gives the DHS authority to permit immigrants who might otherwise have no legal status to temporarily reside in the United States because of extraordinary circumstances in their home countries, such as wars or natural disasters.
The plaintiffs argued that roughly 61,000 people would lose their TPS as a result of Noem's decision, which would end the immigrants' legal status and work authorizations and make them eligible for deportation.
The Trump administration has argued that the statute governing TPS gives DHS secretaries sole discretion over TPS designations and that Noem should be allowed to end the status using the same authority that past secretaries used to grant it.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem holds a news conference regarding the recent protests in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In May, the Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration in an emergency order related to a case involving TPS for Venezuelans. The order temporarily paused a lower court order, clearing the way for Noem to end TPS for about 350,000 immigrants.
Thompson's decision will stay in place until at least November, when the next hearing is scheduled. DHS told Fox News Digital it plans to appeal the decision.
Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-judge-halts-trump-tps-policy-accuses-dhs-making-migrants-atone-race