Contacts: Assefash Makonen, press@africans.us; Golnaz Fakhimi, golnaz@muslimadvocates.org; Souzen Joseph, SJoseph@haitianbridge.org
A federal judge in Massachusetts has postponed the termination of TPS for South Sudan, finding a likelihood of success on the plaintiffs’ arguments that the termination was unlawful. Unless and until a further contrary court order issues, the postponement order preserves the rights of hundreds of South Sudanese TPS holders and applicants, protecting them from unlawful deportation to a country experiencing armed conflict and other humanitarian crises.
Boston, M.A. – On February 12, 2026, a federal District Court judge issued a significant ruling that postpones the Trump administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for South Sudan, which had been scheduled to take effect last month but had been temporarily paused before the termination took effect.
The Court granted the postponement based on the likelihood that the plaintiffs will succeed on their underlying claims that the government failed to follow procedures required by law in reviewing South Sudan’s TPS designation, instead made an unlawfully preordained decision to terminate and gave pretextual reasons to the public for the termination.
The plaintiffs and other South Sudanese TPS holders and applicants are community members who have lived, worked, and built lives in the United States. The order preserves the status quo, including maintenance of and access to TPS status and related benefits such as work authorization, driver’s licenses, and health insurance. The order also protects South Sudanese TPS holders and applicants from a litany of more extreme harms, including immigration confinement and deportation proceedings, forced family separation, and forced removal from the United States. These protections will last unless and until a contrary, further court order issues that allows the termination of TPS for South Sudan to take effect.
The plaintiffs are represented by Muslim Advocates and Haitian Bridge Alliance in a lawsuit supported by Communities United for Status and Protection (CUSP).
“South Sudanese community members are covered by the rule of law in this country, and today’s decision affirms that fact.” said Amaha Kassa, Executive Director of African Communities Together (ACT). “No one should have to face the extreme harms that this and so many other communities have been fearing or experiencing because of this Administration’s disregard for the law and its racist goal of getting rid of Brown and Black immigrants, including Africans. We will continue to stand and fight with impacted communities to uplift their dignity and humanity, defend TPS, and defend and expand access to immigration relief.”
“Yesterday’s decision postponing the unlawful termination of TPS for South Sudan provides a crucial check against the Trump Administration’s targeted attacks against Black, Asian, Arab, and other non-white and non-European immigrant communities based on racial animus.” said Carolyn Tran, Executive Director of Communities United for Status & Protection (CUSP). “CUSP and our member organizations have consistently fought back against these unlawful attacks, and we will continue to fight for the dignity, safety, and wellbeing of all of our communities across the U.S.—from Ethiopians to South Sudanese, Haitians to Nepalese, Syrians to Cameroonians.”
“While we welcome the postponement of the TPS termination for South Sudan, this decision underscores how close Black immigrant communities have come to losing lifesaving protections,” said Erik Crew, Staff Attorney at Haitian Bridge Alliance. “South Sudanese nationals should never have been forced to live under the threat of deportation to conflict and instability. HBA will continue fighting to ensure that TPS is administered lawfully, and that Black immigrants are not subjected to discriminatory attacks that place their families and futures at risk.”
“The decision to postpone the termination of TPS for South Sudan provides critical and temporary relief for the South Sudanese community but cannot erase the harm of the Administration’s overarching and racist goal of terminating protections for non-white and non-European immigrant community members. We will continue to stand by our clients and communities in and out of court to challenge that racist imperative and defend the pluralistic fabric of American society,” said Collin Poirot, Senior Staff Attorney at Muslim Advocates.
For years, the U.S. government has designated and redesignated South Sudan for TPS in recognition of the ongoing armed conflict and other extraordinary conditions that have made it unsafe for South Sudanese nationals to return. These dangerous conditions persist today, with South Sudan continuing to face active armed conflict across multiple regions, widespread displacement affecting millions, severe food insecurity, and the breakdown of essential infrastructure and services.
Pending a further, contrary court order—the judge’s February 12 decision protects South Sudanese TPS holders from these dangerous conditions while the lawsuit proceeds.
Temporary Protected Status is a humanitarian protection established by Congress to prevent deportations to countries experiencing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary conditions.
Communities United for Status & Protection (CUSP) is a national collaborative of grassroots immigrant-led organizations working together to win permanent status for our members and communities, and build a more inclusive immigrant rights movement that centers the needs and experiences of African, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latinx, Arab/Middle Eastern, and Asian & Pacific Islander immigrants.
African Communities Together is an organization of African immigrants fighting for civil rights, opportunity, and a better life for our families here in the U.S. and worldwide.
Muslim Advocates is a national civil rights organization that uses litigation, policy engagement, and communications strategies to promote justice and equity while protecting the diverse spectrum of Muslim communities from anti-Muslim discrimination in all of its forms.
Haitian Bridge Alliance advocates for fair and humane immigration policies and provides migrants and immigrants with humanitarian, legal, and social services, with a particular focus on Black people, the Haitian community, women and girls, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and survivors of torture and other human rights abuses.