The Daily Fuckup

A federal judge in Massachusetts has temporarily paused the government’s plan to end Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopians, stopping the termination from taking effect while the case moves forward. The order was issued on April 8, 2026, in a lawsuit challenging the lawfulness of the termination notice.

The underlying termination came from the Department of Homeland Security in December 2025. DHS said Ethiopia’s TPS designation would end 60 days after publication of the notice in the Federal Register and estimated that 5,001 people were current approved beneficiaries at the time of the termination notice. The agency also said the country no longer met the statutory requirements for the program.

In the April 8 ruling, U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy granted the plaintiffs’ request to postpone the effective date of the termination while the case is litigated. The court said the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on claims that the termination was carried out without the process Congress requires. The decision is temporary and does not resolve the merits of the lawsuit.

Ethiopia was first designated for TPS in 2022 and later extended and redesignated in 2024. Under the 2024 action, current beneficiaries were allowed to keep TPS through December 12, 2025, and additional eligible Ethiopian nationals could apply under the redesignation. The new court order means those protections remain in place for now, rather than ending on schedule.