A federal appeals court temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security on Monday from terminating Temporary Protected Status for roughly 75,000 Afghan nationals who were resettled in the United States following former President Joe Biden’s disastrous military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
In a Monday order, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote, “The Court GRANTS the requested administrative stay of agency action regarding the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Afghanistan until Monday, July 21, at 11:59 p.m.”
Fox 17 reported that the decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to temporarily block the Trump administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status for Afghan nationals gives the court additional time to consider the case.
According to Fox 17, the Biden administration granted Afghanistan Temporary Protected Status in 2022 following the U.S. military’s disastrous withdrawal from the country after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan. Under the administration’s Temporary Protected Status program, tens of thousands of Afghan nationals have been protected against deportation to Afghanistan due to humanitarian concerns in the country.
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In May, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced, “This administration is returning TPS to its original temporary intent. We’ve reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS designation. Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country.”
At the time, Noem explained that the termination of the Temporary Protected Status program for Afghan nationals “furthers the national interest as DHS records indicate that there are recipients who have been under investigation for fraud and threatening our public safety and national security.”
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday that the Trump administration is required to provide a response to the court’s emergency motion by Wednesday and that CASA, Inc., the organization that filed the lawsuit against the Trump administration, must provide a response by Thursday.
