July 15 (UPI) — A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from stripping deportation protections from thousands of Afghans in the country.
The unsigned order from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia came Monday, the same day about 11,700 Afghans in the United States were to lose their Temporary Protected Status.
The order maintains TPS for Afghan migrants until July 21.
The ruling came in response to a request by CASA, an immigration advocacy group.
President Donald Trump won re-election following a campaign that used derogatory rhetoric and misinformation about migrants, while vowing to conduct mass deportations.
Since returning to office, he has used his presidential powers to deport migrants and limit immigration, including ending TPS for migrants from Afghanistan and Cameroon on April 12.
The next month, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the designation for Afghanistan would be terminated on July 14.
“We’ve reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS designation,” she said.
The move has attracted criticism because many of the Afghans with TPS protection were permitted to enter the United States following the U.S. military withdrawal from the war-torn country in 2021. It has since returned to Taliban rule.
Prior to the order on Monday, the National Immigration Forum warned that ending TPS designation for Afghanistan would disrupt thousands of lives, harm their U.S. communities and remove essential workers from the workforce.
“These individuals are not only our allies, but our friends, employees and neighbors,” Jennie Murray, president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum, said in a statement.
“Since so many of those losing their protections served alongside U.S. forces, we should honor that service by upholding our promise to provide safety and ensure that they have an opportunity to thrive here.”
The Trump administration has also sought to end TPS designations for Haiti, Venezuela, Nepal, Nicaragua and Honduras.