Trump administration for now can end deportation protections for thousands from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua court says

Source: CBS News

Updated on: August 20, 2025 / 9:01 PM EDT


A federal appeals court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to end temporary deportation protections for more than 60,000 people from Nicaragua, Honduras and Nepal — at least for now.

A lower court last month blocked the Department of Homeland Security from ending Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for the three countries until at least mid-November to give the court more time to weigh the issue. The judge sided with plaintiffs who argued the Trump administration's plan to wind down TPS was "motivated by racial animus."

But on Wednesday, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit put that ruling on hold pending appeal. The order — which was issued by a panel of three judges nominated under the Clinton, Bush and first Trump administrations — did not offer a rationale for the decision.

Tens of thousands of migrants from Nicaragua, Honduras and Nepal rely on TPS, a program that grants temporary reprieve from deportation and work permits to people whose home countries are deemed unsafe due to war or natural disaster. If they don't have any other means to stay in the U.S. legally — like a green card or an asylum application — those who lose their TPS are no longer eligible to work in the country lawfully and are at risk of deportation.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/temporary-protected-status-nicaragua-honduras-nepal-ninth-circuit-ruling/