Overview
- U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs lifted the administrative stay on Friday, Aug. 14, allowing the Department of Homeland Security to move ahead with ending Somalia's TPS while the lawsuit continues.
- Burroughs said plaintiffs showed they would suffer irreparable harm but found they were unlikely to win on the merits because the Supreme Court's June Mullin ruling narrows courts' power to review DHS termination decisions.
- Estimates of people affected vary across reports with local outlets citing roughly 700–1,100 directly impacted while USCIS figures reported to media list about 2,471 current Somali TPS holders and 1,383 pending applications.
- Ending TPS removes work authorization and deportation protection for holders who lack another legal status, exposing them to arrest, job loss, and family disruption in communities where many have lived for decades.
- The litigation continues under the Mullin framework, other district courts have allowed recent terminations for countries such as South Sudan and Myanmar, and Congress remains the only body that can restore legal protections by statute.