By Trendsetter Tribune 
On Monday, February 9, 2026, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay that effectively allows the Trump administration to resume its efforts to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nearly 89,000 migrants from Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua.
The ruling pauses a nationwide injunction issued in December 2025 by U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson, who had previously blocked the terminations on the grounds that they were “preordained” and potentially motivated by racial animus.
The Appeals Court Ruling
The Ninth Circuit panel—comprising Judges Michael Hawkins, Consuelo Callahan, and Eric Miller—concluded that the government is likely to succeed on the merits of its appeal.
- Statutory Authority: The judges noted that the TPS statute grants the Secretary of Homeland Security broad discretion to review and terminate designations and suggested that such “determinations” may not even be eligible for judicial review under federal law.
- Support for DHS: The panel found that the administrative record “adequately supports” the decision to end protections and that the Secretary is not strictly required to consider “intervening conditions” (new crises) that arose after the initial reason for the TPS designation had passed.
- Judicial Overreach: The court cited recent Supreme Court guidance that cautioned lower courts against blocking executive immigration policies through broad nationwide injunctions.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s Response
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem hailed the decision as a victory for constitutional authority and the administration’s “America First” immigration agenda.
“A win for the rule of law and vindication for the US Constitution… TPS was never designed to be permanent, yet previous administrations have used it as a de facto amnesty program for decades.”
— Secretary Kristi Noem via X
Noem has aggressively pursued the termination of TPS for multiple countries since taking office in early 2025, arguing that the “extraordinary conditions” (such as the 1999 hurricane in Central America or the 2015 earthquake in Nepal) have long since been resolved.
Impact on TPS Holders
The stay means that deportation protections and work authorizations for these groups could expire much sooner than anticipated while the underlying lawsuit continues.
| Country | Affected Population (Est.) | Status Update |
| Honduras | 58,000 | Protections were set to end Sept. 2025; currently in legal limbo. |
| Nepal | 9,000 | Original expiration was Aug. 2025; stay allows DHS to enforce termination. |
| Nicaragua | 3,000 | Protections were set to end Sept. 2025; stay allows DHS to enforce termination. |
The National TPS Alliance Counter-Move
Advocates for the migrants, including the National TPS Alliance, have warned that ending these protections will tear apart families who have lived legally in the U.S. for over two decades. They are expected to immediately petition the full Ninth Circuit for an en banc review or appeal to the Supreme Court to reinstate the stay.
This ruling follows a separate but related setback for the administration last week, where a D.C. judge blocked the termination of TPS for 350,000 Haitians, citing similar concerns of racial bias. The legal battle over TPS is now fractured across multiple circuits, likely heading for a final resolution at the high court.