Federal Judge Suspends End of Protected Status for South Sudanese Immigrants

Good news for South Sudanese immigrants in the United States.
A federal judge in Massachusetts has temporarily suspended Washington’s decision to terminate the protected status granted since 2011 to South Sudanese nationals.
In a ruling issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley granted a reprieve to approximately 300 South Sudanese individuals facing deportation from the United States.
The judicial intervention comes as the Trump administration was preparing to revoke, effective January 5, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) benefiting these migrants.
Since 2011, Washington had extended this protection to South Sudanese nationals due to the devastating civil war that ravaged the young nation, claiming nearly 400,000 lives.
This humanitarian catastrophe erupted shortly after the country gained independence from Sudan, plunging the nation into a cycle of political and ethnic violence.
A Disagreement Over Conditions on the Ground
The U.S. government justifies its decision by citing a supposed improvement in South Sudan’s security situation. In its November notice, the Department of Homeland Security determined that conditions no longer meet the criteria of armed conflict posing a serious threat to personal safety.
“While there is intercommunal violence related to border disputes, cyclical attacks, and ethnic polarization, a return to large-scale civil war has been avoided thus far,” the government document states.
This assessment is vigorously disputed by migrant rights advocates.
Diana Konaté of African Communities Together, which filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of four South Sudanese individuals, denounces the decision as “disconnected from reality.”
“Anyone following South Sudan’s current events knows the country remains dangerous. Entire populations continue to flee certain regions due to ongoing fighting. The humanitarian crisis has not disappeared,” she emphasizes.
Lives Upended
The approximately 230 current TPS beneficiaries and 70 pending applicants have built their lives in the United States. Many still have relatives in refugee camps.
“These people work, study, and contribute to their communities. They have done things by the book. Now everything is being torn away from them without them having committed any wrongdoing,” Konaté laments.
Judge Kelley’s decision represents only a temporary victory. The government has until January 9 to present its counterarguments, while plaintiffs will have until January 13 to respond.
A Political Showdown
Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin sharply criticized the judicial intervention, denouncing it as “an activist order” that “usurps the President’s constitutional authority.”
According to her, the previous administration misused TPS to “allow entry of violent terrorists and national security threats.” She maintains that “renewed peace in South Sudan” and “improved diplomatic relations” justify ending a program designed as temporary.
For Diana Konaté, this initial legal victory nonetheless provides “some breathing room” for affected families to “consider what comes next.”
This decision extends beyond the South Sudanese community. Thousands of immigrants from other countries are also affected by the Trump administration’s decision to end Temporary Protected Status. This notably includes the Haitian community, whose TPS expires on February 3.
More than 500,000 Haitian immigrants risk losing their legal status if no judicial decision is made in favor of Haitians.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​