WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from ending temporary protections from deportation for South Sudanese nationals in the United States.
U.S. District Judge Patti Saris in Boston concluded that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had likely acted unlawfully by providing a "pretextual" reason for terminating South Sudan's Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation and not disclosing the real factor motivating her action.
The TPS status applies to people whose home countries have experienced natural disasters, armed conflicts or other extraordinary events, providing eligible migrants with temporary protection from deportation.
Noem in November published a notice terminating TPS for South Sudan, saying the country no longer met the conditions for the designation, which was first issued in 2011 when South Sudan won independence.
More than 230 South Sudanese nationals have been beneficiaries of TPS, according to the lawsuit.
The federal judge said that notice failed to acknowledge the "real reason" for Noem's action, which was that she had adopted a "preordained pattern and practice" of terminating TPS designations for all countries.
Since Noem took office, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has moved to end TPS designations for 11 other countries, including Haiti, Venezuela and Ethiopia, said the judge.
The ruling came in a lawsuit by a group of South Sudanese nationals and the non-profit African Communities Together. ■