Overview
- A U.S. district court in Boston issued the emergency order on Tuesday that bars U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from terminating work authorizations, rejecting asylum applications, or starting removal proceedings for nonpayment of the new asylum fee.
- The order does not stop USCIS from collecting the fee but forbids the agency from using nonpayment to revoke permits or impose other penalties while the judge weighs a longer injunction by August 5.
- Separately, a D.C. Circuit panel issued a temporary stay on July 23 that preserves Temporary Protected Status for roughly 350,000 Haitians through July 27 as appeals play out.
- The legal challenge says USCIS implemented provisions of the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act without required notice-and-comment and applied work-authority limits retroactively to TPS holders from countries including El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine.
- If the temporary orders end, employers in health care, long-term care and hospitality face sudden labor loss, advocates say, which is why Congress is also considering legislation to extend TPS protections even as courts adjudicate the agency's rules.