Ninth Circuit Stays District Court Order, Again Halting TPS Protections for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has issued a stay of a California federal district court order that had previously vacated the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua. As a result of the stay, TPS is once again considered terminated for nationals of these three countries while the government’s appeal continues.
The stayed district court order had temporarily blocked DHS from ending TPS for the affected countries. However, the Ninth Circuit’s decision reinstates DHS’s terminations during the pendency of the appeal, meaning TPS protections are not currently in effect for Honduras, Nepal, or Nicaragua unless and until further court action occurs.
The appeal is pending in National TPS Alliance et al. v. Noem et al., No. 26-199 (9th Cir.).
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is expected to update its TPS country-specific webpages to reflect the Ninth Circuit’s ruling. These updates are anticipated to confirm that TPS protections for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua are terminated and that any related automatic extensions of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) are no longer valid while the appeal remains ongoing. As of this writing, USCIS has not yet posted updated guidance.
TPS beneficiaries from the affected countries are strongly advised to review their current immigration status and explore alternative immigration options, as TPS-based protection from removal and employment authorization are not in effect under the current court order.
