Obama-appointed Massachusetts district judge blocks Trump admin from ending TPS for Somalis

A district judge in Massachusetts has blocked the Trump administration from ending deportation protections for more than a thousand Somalis living in the United States.

US District Judge Allison D. Burroughs noted that the Trump administration did not file a brief or assign a lawyer to represent the federal government in a lawsuit seeking to block the order. The lawsuit was filed on Monday.

Burroughs, a Barack Obama appointee, issued an indefinite stay of the policy, saying it would give the government time to prepare its arguments and brief the court.

The judge said that the government had not “appeared in the action,” which means they did not file a response to the lawsuit or assign a lawyer. Additionally, she noted it had not produced “the certified administrative record on which the court must rely in deciding the merits,” or “filed a brief setting forth their position” on the motion to keep the deposition protections in effect.

The judge’s order will allow Somalis to stay in the US under Temporary Protected Status. The Trump administration has been working to end the program for Somalis and other nationalities, arguing that the temporary permits should end and recipients should return to their home countries. The Trump administration was seeking an end to these protections by March 17.

The decision will affect over 2,400 Somali nationals in the US, and roughly 1,380 have applied for Temporary Protected Status, according to The New York Times. While the judge’s ruling offers temporary relief, she noted she wanted to move quickly to a substantive ruling.

The push to deport Somali nationals comes amid a broader immigration crackdown by the Trump administration, including high-profile enforcement efforts in Minneapolis, which has one of the largest Somali communities in the United States. The Trump administration has since revealed it is dialing back deportation efforts.