Court upholds humanitarian program changes for migrants

A panel of judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday that the Trump administration’s decision to end temporary protected status (TPS) for some immigrants did not amount to racial discrimination. The Department of Homeland Security uses TPS for those fleeing disasters or humanitarian crises. In 2018, the agency ended the designation for people from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, and Sudan, saying it had become safe to return to those countries. The American Civil Liberties Union sued to block the move, and a federal judge ruled in 2018 that the change was discriminatory.

What happens next? The American Civil Liberties Union said it would appeal the decision to the full 9th Circuit. TPS recipients from the four countries have several months and in some cases up to a year before their legal status ends.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Charissa Koh’s report in Compassion on the TPS program for people from El Salvador.