Appeals court OKs termination of TPS for Nepal, Honduras, Nicaragua
Aug. 21 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court is permitting the Trump administration to continue with its termination of deportation protections for tens of thousands of people in the United States from Nepal, Honduras and Nicaragua amid litigation.
The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit approved the Trump administration's request for a stay pending appeal on Wednesday as it challenges a lower court's ruling that initially postponed the federal government's termination of Temporary Protected Status for those from Nepal, Honduras and Nicaragua until at least Nov. 18, when the next hearing is scheduled to test the merits of the case.
The decision was unanimous. No reason was given.
"This devastating and unexplained decision threatens families who have lived here for decades, raised U.S. citizen children, built businesses and become an integral part of our communities," National TPS Alliance, which brought the case against the Trump administration, said in a statement following the ruling.
"But let it be clear: We are families, workers, neighbors. And despite this setback, TPS holders and allies will CONTINUE to fight for justice, permanent protections and the right to stay in the only home many of us have ever known."
The ruling is a victory for President Donald Trump and his administration amid their crackdown on immigration as the American leader seeks to conduct mass deportations of non-citizens.
"This is yet another huge legal victory for the Trump administration, the rule of law, safety of the American public," Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement.
"TPS was never meant to be a de facto asylum system, yet that is how previous administrations have used it for decades," she said, adding, "This unanimous decision will help restore integrity to our immigration system to keep our homeland and its people safe."
Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, was established by Congress in 1990 to shield migrants in the United States from being deported to their home countries experiencing crises such as war, conflict or famine, where they would be put into harm's way.
Honduras and Nicaragua were both granted TPS designation in January 1999, following the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch a year earlier, with Nepal receiving the designation in 2015, due to a destructive earthquake that hit the country that April.
Some 60,000 people from the three countries are currently protected from deportation to their native nations because of TPS, many of whom have been in the United States for decades.
Trump is attempting to dismantle TPS as part of his immigration crackdown. He announced it was ending deportation protections for those from Nepal in early June, doing the same for Honduras and Nicaragua in July. The designations were to be terminated Aug. 5 for Nepal and Sept. 8 for Honduras and Nicaragua.
The Trump administration has argued that TPS was never meant to be a long-term solution and that the conditions in those countries have changed.
On July 7, the National TPS Alliance sued the federal government, arguing the terminations were unconstitutional as the Trump administration failed to follow the necessary review process, while its reason for ending TPS was racially motivated.
In late July, District Judge Trina Thompson issued a strongly worded decision postponing the termination of TPS for Nepal, Honduras and Nicaragua until mid-November, stating: "The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty and the American Dream. That is all plaintiffs seek. Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names and purify their blood."
Following the ruling on Wednesday, Sandhya Lama, a TPS holder from Nepal, said she was "heartbroken" by the decision.
"I've lived in the U.S. for years, and my kids are U.S. citizens and have never been to Nepal. This ruling leaves us and thousands of other TPS families in fear and uncertainty," she said in a statement.
"We are families, workers and neighbors who have built our lives here. Despite this setback, we will continue to fight for justice."
The Trump administration is also seeking to terminate TPS protections for Afghanistan, Haiti and Venezuela, moves that are also being challenged in court.
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