The Trump administration suffered several legal blows with four different courts stepping in to block or examine some of its most aggressive actions on immigration, humanitarian protections, and public safety. None of the court orders were minor and they left the administration looking unprepared for the level of scrutiny from judges.
The most shocking moment happened in a federal courtroom in Maryland. Here, a high-profile deportation case began to fall apart over something surprisingly simple. The government has tried for years to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man whose mistaken deportation earlier this year sparked controversy. But at a hearing this week, the judge repeatedly asked government lawyers for the formal removal order from his 2019 case. It wasn’t in the records and apparently didn’t exist.
When lawyers tried to proceed anyway, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis stopped them, telling them, “You can’t fake it ’til you make it.” Abrego’s attorney pointed out that immigration law does not allow the government to deport someone without a final order, calling it an “obvious due process violation.” The government’s inconsistent explanations, including proposals to send Abrego to four different countries after ignoring his offer to go to Costa Rica, did not help its credibility. A simple missing document now threatens to derail one of the administration’s most publicized enforcement efforts.
In New York, the administration faced another significant setback involving young immigrants with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ended a policy that provided these youths temporary protection from deportation and made it easier for them to work while waiting for their visas. A federal judge ruled that the rollback could not continue, ordering the agency to restart its deferred action reviews and restore work permit processing. For over 150,000 SIJS recipients waiting in limbo, many of whom were abused or abandoned as children, the decision brought immediate relief and sharply weakened one of the administration’s recent changes in immigration policy.
Judge Temporarily Blocks Ending of Protected Status for Syrians
Temporary protected status for Syrians was due to end on Nov. 21. pic.twitter.com/JpsZ5QCgaY
— NTD (@NTD_Live) November 20, 2025
The administration also hit a wall in Manhattan, where a judge blocked its plan to strip Temporary Protected Status from over 6,000 Syrians who have been legally living in the United States for years. Plaintiffs argued that the government ignored ongoing dangers in Syria and failed to justify its quick move to end TPS. The judge agreed they were likely to win and halted the termination while the case continues, keeping work authorization and deportation protections in place for now. Humanitarian programs still have solid support in the courts, even when the administration tries to link their rollback to national security.
In Tennessee, a state court judge blocked the deployment of the state National Guard to Memphis under a Trump-backed law enforcement initiative. Local officials and lawmakers challenged this, saying the governor did not have the authority to approve the deployment without legislative approval and that crime conditions in Memphis did not meet the legal standard of a “grave emergency.” The judge sided with them, issuing an injunction that questions the administration’s attempts to use Guard troops in domestic policing roles.
