Judge stops end of special immigration protections

The Trump administration condemned a federal judge’s ruling to stop the government from ending protection for immigrants from four countries in turmoil. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen ordered the administration to temporarily stop its plan to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for people from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan. The protection program began in 1990 to aid migrants from countries battling natural disasters or war. Some 300,000 migrants are in the United States on TPS. The Department of Homeland Security said TPS should end because living conditions had improved in the four countries. Chen said the administration failed to establish that the migrants pose any harm and said the decision could break up many families.

In his ruling, Chen cited evidence that “President Trump harbors an animus against non-white, non-European aliens, which influenced his … decision to end the TPS designation.” He referred to Donald Trump’s 2015 campaign speech, in which he called Mexican migrants rapists and drug dealers, his call to end U.S. entry for Muslims, and his reported obscene comments about African countries during a closed-door January meeting. Devin O’Malley, spokesman for the Department of Justice, said the administration did not do anything wrong and that the ruling “usurps the role of the executive branch.” Chen set a hearing for Oct. 26.