BOSTON, July 22: A federal judge in the United States on Tuesday temporarily halted the Trump administration from enforcing new immigration rules that would have stripped work authorization from tens of thousands of asylum seekers and migrants protected under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programme.
US District Judge Nathaniel Gorton, sitting in Boston, granted interim relief to a coalition of immigrant rights organisations and labour unions that challenged the legality of the policies introduced by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The court order will remain in force until the judge decides whether to issue a longer-term injunction, with a ruling expected by August 5.
The disputed measures stem from immigration provisions included in a tax and spending law passed by the Republican controlled Congress in July 2025. The legislation introduced application fees for asylum seekers and imposed fresh limits on employment authorisation for individuals covered under TPS.
Temporary Protected Status allows nationals from countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions to remain and work legally in the United States until it is considered safe for them to return.
The Trump administration has been pursuing a broader effort to roll back TPS protections for migrants from more than a dozen countries. Last month, the US Supreme Court allowed the administration to proceed with ending TPS protections for thousands of Haitian and Syrian nationals.
The lawsuit, filed by legal advocacy group Democracy Forward, argues that USCIS unlawfully enforced the new law without following mandatory rule-making procedures. The plaintiffs contend the agency failed to provide the required public notice and opportunity for comment before implementing the policy changes.
According to the legal challenge, the new rules would have immediately affected TPS beneficiaries from El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine by shortening the validity of their employment authorisation through retroactive application of the law. Without court intervention, many of them were at risk of losing their legal right to work starting Wednesday.
Judge Gorton declined to stop USCIS from collecting the newly introduced asylum application fee. However, he ruled that the agency cannot revoke work permits or impose penalties on applicants who have not yet paid the fee while the legal dispute continues.
Democracy Forward President and Chief Executive Officer Skye Perryman welcomed the court’s decision, saying the temporary order protects thousands of immigrant families from losing their income while the courts determine the legality of the administration’s actions.
The Biden administration had extended TPS protections for nationals of El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine in January 2025. Under those extensions, protections for Salvadorans remain valid until September 9, while those for Sudanese and Ukrainian beneficiaries continue until October 19.
The case was filed in the federal court in Boston, a venue that has frequently heard legal challenges to Trump administration policies. Judge Gorton, who was appointed by former Republican President George H.W. Bush, is expected to decide next month whether the temporary order should remain in effect pending the outcome of the case.