A federal judge in Boston ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration may revoke legal protections shielding more than 5,000 Ethiopians from deportation, lifting a previous hold on the termination of their Temporary Protected Status.
US District Judge Brian Murphy gave the Department of Homeland Security the go-ahead to end TPS for the group, having previously paused the administration's efforts. The Department of Homeland Security announced in December that it would end protections for Ethiopians, who were first granted TPS under former President Joe Biden in 2022.
The ruling follows a June Supreme Court decision that limited courts' ability to review Homeland Security's termination of TPS. The administration has sought to end TPS for at least 13 nationalities, with recent court approvals covering nationals from Somalia, South Sudan, and Myanmar. Roughly 1.29 million people lived under TPS protection as of March.