Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs | https://www.dhs.gov/
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded to a recent federal court decision that delayed the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals from Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua. The ruling was issued by Judge Trina Thompson in California, who found that the cancellation of TPS was motivated by “racial animus.”
In her opinion, Judge Thompson wrote that Secretary Kristi Noem is instructing approximately 60,000 TPS recipients to “atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood.” She also compared the termination of TPS to historical instances such as the Atlantic slave trade, stating: “the United States has a long history of transporting individuals against their will, to places unfamiliar with them.”
DHS criticized the ruling, saying it disregards federal law. The department emphasized that TPS was designed as a temporary measure and noted that both Nicaraguan and Honduran designations have been in place for over two decades following natural disasters. DHS stated that conditions in these countries have improved and it is now considered safe for nationals to return.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said: “Restoring integrity to our immigration system to keep our homeland and its people safe. That is all we—and the American people who elected President Trump in a landslide election—seek. TPS was never meant to be a de facto asylum system, yet that is how previous administrations have used it for decades. This is yet another example of how out of control judges are race-baiting to distract from the facts and President’s constitutionally vested powers under Article II. We will appeal, and we expect a higher court to vindicate us.”
The statement further argued that TPS has been misused as an amnesty program allowing unvetted individuals—including those convicted of crimes—to remain in the United States indefinitely. DHS provided several examples involving individuals from Honduras who were convicted of violent offenses or other crimes while on TPS status.
President Trump and Secretary Noem are described by DHS as seeking to restore what they view as common sense immigration policy by returning TPS to its original intent as a temporary solution.
