A federal judge in California blasted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on New Year’s Eve. She stated that the Trump administration’s plan to remove Temporary Protected Status from tens of thousands of immigrants appeared to be unfair from the beginning, and might have been motivated by racism.
U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson focused on the decision to end TPS protections for Honduran, Nepali, and Nicaraguan immigrants. Court filings and reports estimate this group at about 60,000 people, while DHS estimates in broader litigation suggest around 89,000 across the three countries.
In her ruling, Thompson said Noem’s action “was preordained and pretextual rather than based on an objective review of the country conditions as required by the TPS statute and the Administrative Procedures Act.” The judge went further, stating the record showed that “before taking office,” Noem decided to end TPS and then “influenced the conditions review process” to facilitate its termination for the three countries.
Thompson described the case as a test of limits, not just immigration policy. “The rule of law demands that when executive officials exceed their authority, they must be held to account,” she wrote. She added that the Administrative Procedure Act exists to ensure transparency, public input, and meaningful court review.
The strongest language in the dispute centers on what federal officials have said about immigrants and what that implies about their intent. Reuters reported that Thompson referenced statements by Trump and Noem that depicted immigrants as criminals and a burden on the U.S. She concluded: “These statements reflect a stereotyping of the immigrants protected under the TPS program as criminal invaders and perpetuate the discriminatory belief that certain immigrant populations will replace the white population.”
Bloomberg Law summarized the same ruling, saying Thompson pointed out that Noem, Trump, and others “repeatedly characterize immigrants as invaders upsetting the foundation of the country.” This rhetoric reinforces “the racist ‘replacement theory,’” which she described as the idea that non-white immigrants will “replace” white people and threaten the nation’s white foundation.
This program, created by Congress in 1990, can provide temporary protection from deportation and work authorization when home countries face disasters, conflict, or other emergencies. Honduras and Nicaragua received TPS designation after Hurricane Mitch in the late 1990s, while Nepal was added after a deadly earthquake in 2015. Many TPS holders have lived in the U.S. for years, sometimes decades.
The ruling also comes after reports noted that the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration in October to move forward with ending TPS for about 300,000 Venezuelans while litigation continues, even as lower courts have blocked other terminations. For instance, a Boston ruling this week halted the administration from ending protections for South Sudanese migrants. Bloomberg Law pointed out mixed outcomes in other TPS cases, including a New York decision that blocked a move affecting Haitians, while another lawsuit failed to maintain protections for Afghans before their expirations.
For now, Thompson’s order provides TPS holders from Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua with some relief. It delivers a strong message to Noem and the administration that the court views political motives behind the process, not the other way around.
