Federal Court Allows Termination of Somalia’s Temporary Protected Status to Move Forward

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Read a PDF of our statement here.

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(Boston, M.A.) – On Friday, a federal district court judge in the District of Massachusetts allowed the termination of Somalia’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation to move forward by lifting the administrative stay that temporarily paused the termination of the program while legal arguments were heard in the case.  

On July 30, plaintiffs filed an amended complaint arguing that the termination of Somalia’s TPS designation discriminated on the basis of race and national origin. The complaint also contained new claims that the termination violated the due process rights of Somali TPS holders and that the government official who purportedly terminated Somalia’s TPS designation did not have the legal authority to do so. 

Although the district court recognized the “undisguised racial animus” inherent in the termination of Somalia’s TPS, the importance of TPS benefits, and the “convincing showing” of irreparable harm, the court felt bound by the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2026 decision in Mullin v. Doe that greenlit the Trump administration’s discriminatory agenda to terminate TPS for Haiti and Syria. 

The Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are African Communities Together (ACT), Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA), and four Somali community members who have lived and worked in the U.S. for many years and who all have U.S. citizen family members. They now face significant harms from the termination, among them detention, deportation, loss of work authorization, and separation from their family members, loved ones, and communities. The Plaintiffs are represented by Muslim Advocates, Haitian Bridge Alliance, and the Legal Defense Fund, in a lawsuit supported by Communities United for Status and Protection (CUSP).  

The Plaintiffs and their legal representatives made the following statement: 

“This decision delivers a tremendous blow to the safety of Somali TPS communities all across the nation, opening the door to deportation and violence at the hands of federal agents. We are deeply dismayed at the devastation that will be left in the wake of this ruling but will not stop in our fight to protect the rights of Somali people.” 

For those impacted by this decision, we recommend these next steps: 

• Consult an individual immigration attorney and speak to them as soon as possible about any other pathways to legal status.  

• Review the following resource materials: 

• Emergency Planning Guide (note: you have to click on the arrow next to “click to download resource” to see the guide) 

• Pro Se Plus Project, which is a collaboration of legal service providers and community-based organizations supporting immigrants representing themselves in immigration proceedings 

Temporary Protected Status is a humanitarian protection established by Congress to prevent deportations to countries experiencing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary conditions.  

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Communities United for Status & Protection (CUSP) is a national collaborative of grassroots immigrant-led organizations working to win permanent status for TPS holders and build a more inclusive immigrant rights movement that centers African, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latinx, Arab/Middle Eastern, and Asian & Pacific Islander immigrants. 

African Communities Together (ACT) is an organization of African immigrants fighting for civil rights, opportunity, and a better life for our families here in the U.S. and worldwide. 

Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA) advocates for the full economic, social, and civic inclusion of refugees and displaced populations in the San Diego region, throughout California, and across the country. 

Muslim Advocates is a social justice and legal advocacy organization that works with and for Black, African, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, South Asian, and other historically marginalized communities to build community power, dismantle systemic discrimination, and demand shared wellbeing by using litigation, policy engagement, and communications strategies. 

Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) advocates for fair and humane immigration policies and provides migrants and immigrants with humanitarian, legal, and social services, with a particular focus on Black people, the Haitian community, women and girls, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and survivors of torture and other human rights abuses. 

The Legal Defense Fund (LDF), founded in 1940, is the nation’s first civil rights legal organization. LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957, though it was founded under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall while he was at the NAACP. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute (TMI) is a division of LDF that undertakes innovative research and houses LDF’s archive. In all media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF (do not include NAACP) and refer to the Institute as LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute or TMI.