300K Immigrants From 4 Nations Get a Judge's Reprieve

Judge Edward Chen blocks DOJ's TPS move, citing evidence of racism toward 'non-white aliens'

By Newser Editors and Wire Services

Posted Oct 4, 2018 9:15 AM CDT

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Judge Blocks DOJ's Move to End Protection for 300K Immigrants — In this March 12, 2018, file photo, supporters of Temporary Protected Status program immigrants hold signs at a rally outside of a federal courthouse in San Francisco before a news conference announcing a lawsuit against the Trump administration. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

The Department of Justice is condemning a judge's ruling that blocks the Trump administration from ending protections for 300,000 immigrants living and working in the United States. A federal judge in San Francisco issued a temporary injunction Wednesday that bars the administration from ending a program that allowed people from Haiti, Sudan, Nicaragua, and El Salvador to stay in the US temporarily, the AP reports. The Temporary Protected Status program, or TPS, granted temporary protection to people because of war, epidemics, or natural disasters in their home countries, per CNN.

The ruling comes in a lawsuit that contends the administration improperly changed the rules for the program out of racism. DOJ spokesman Devin O'Malley says the ruling "usurps the role of the executive branch" and that the administration did nothing improper. In the ruling, Judge Edward Chen said ending the protections could cause great suffering and harm to families. He also noted there's evidence that President Trump harbors animus toward "non-white, non-European" aliens. He cited Trump's remarks disparaging Mexicans, Muslims, and certain nations. "The issues are at least serious enough to preserve the status quo," Chen wrote in his ruling.

(More immigration stories.)

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