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US District Judge Edward Chen granted a preliminary injunction barring the government from ending the temporary protection status, or GST, for immigrants from Sudan, El Salvador, Canada, and the United States. Haiti and Nicaragua.
Chen decided that the government should maintain the GST and the employment permits for GST recipients in these countries, while a lawsuit challenging the government's decision to eliminate their protections was continuing. .
GST protects migrants in the United States from countries hit by catastrophic conditions, such as epidemics, wars or natural disasters. Previous administrations had chosen to extend protections for most of the countries concerned every few years when they were standing for review, but the Trump administration was about to end the protections afforded to them. the majority of immigrants under the program, arguing that the initial conditions requiring them are no longer present.
The judge's decision comes a week after the hearing. It comes into effect immediately and is a particularly welcome news for GST recipients in Sudan, who were less than a month away from losing their protection.
"I'm still trying to make myself understood," said Salma Ahmed of Chicago.
The 21-year-old woman, born in Sudan and living in the United States since the age of 2, attended the San Francisco court hearing last week and was encouraged to attend. hear the judge recognize the urgency of the situation she and many others are facing. .
"My hopes are getting higher," she told CNN on Wednesday night. "I did not expect it for the moment, but it's fine."
Judge: Decisions may have been based on "animosity against non-white, non-European immigrants"
In Wednesday's ruling, Chen said that there was evidence that the administration may have violated the Constitution when it made the decision to terminate TPS.
"There is also evidence that this may have been done to implement and justify a predefined outcome desired by the White House." The complainants also raised serious questions as to whether the actions taken by the Acting Secretary or the Secretary were influenced by the White House and based on animosity against non-white, non-European immigrants, in violation of equal protection guaranteed by the Constitution, "wrote Chen. "The problems are at least serious enough to preserve the status quo."
The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment and the Department of Homeland Security stated that it could not comment on an ongoing litigation.
A plaintiffs' lawyer paid tribute to the judge's decision.
"Judge Chen's decision confirms the courageous struggle of the GST holders to defend the Constitution in the face of the Trump government's discriminatory attack on this humanitarian program on which hundreds of thousands of people rely," said Emi MacLean of the network. national organization of workers. .
The main plaintiff in this case is Crista Ramos, a 14-year-old American citizen whose mother is a GST holder in El Salvador.
"I was so happy when I learned the judge's decision." Since the announcement of the GST dismissals, I was wondering how I could lead a normal life if I'm about to lose my mother, "Ramos said Wednesday night. . "Today, my family and I are celebrating and tomorrow we will continue our fight for permanent GST status."
Sonia Moghe, Vanessa Yurkevich and Geneva Sands from CNN contributed to this report.
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