Appeals Court Allows Trump to End TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua

• Appeals Court Upholds End of TPS
• Thousands of Immigrants at Risk
• Trump Wins New Immigration Battle

According to the EFE news agency, an appeals court in California dealt a harsh blow to tens of thousands of immigrants by authorizing President Donald Trump to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua.

The decision, issued by a panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, suspends a previous district court order that had allowed beneficiaries to continue under protection against deportation.

With this ruling, about 51,000 Hondurans, 3,000 Nicaraguans, and thousands of Nepalese lose the legal protection that had allowed them to live and work in the United States.

The judges determined that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acted within its authority when issuing the termination orders.

Appeals Court Allows End of TPS

NEW: The 9th Circuit permits the Trump admin to terminate TPS for Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal for now.

This population includes 50,000 people who have been here legally since 1998 and will now have to leave the US or risk deportation. Many have no path to permanent status. pic.twitter.com/VEA49sgBAP

— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) August 20, 2025

The ruling means that the affected Nepalese will immediately lose their legal status and work permits, while Hondurans and Nicaraguans will have until September 8 to exit the program.

The measure gives them only 60 days before immigrants become exposed to deportation proceedings.

TPS had been renewed for more than two decades for Central Americans who arrived after hurricanes and natural disasters, while Nepalese obtained the benefit after the 2015 earthquake.

For many, the court decision means the end of more than 10—or even 26—years of legal life in the country.

Government’s Arguments

Deputy DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended the termination, claiming it seeks to “restore integrity” to the immigration system.

According to the official, TPS was conceived as a temporary measure and not as a mechanism for indefinite asylum.

“TPS was never intended as a de facto asylum system; however, that is how previous administrations have used it for decades,” McLaughlin said earlier this month.

The Trump administration has argued that maintaining this benefit for decades contradicts Congress’s original intent.

Criticism and Reactions

Immigrant rights organizations called the decision an attack on vulnerable communities and a sign of “racial animosity.” Emi MacLean, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said the measure is part of a “coordinated campaign” to strip all legal status from non-citizens.

“Today’s ruling is a devastating setback, but it is not the end of this fight,” she said in a statement.

From the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), expert Ahilan Arulanantham warned that the plaintiffs “deserve better” than the outcome delivered by the judges.

Jessica Bansal, a representative of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), stressed that ending TPS will affect thousands of families in which at least 40,000 children are U.S. citizens by birth.

For activists, the cancellation not only means loss of jobs and risk of deportation, but also the separation of entire households.

Immediate Impact of the End of TPS

The ruling will have immediate consequences in communities with a strong presence of immigrants protected under TPS.

Nepalese beneficiaries will automatically fall into irregular status, while Hondurans and Nicaraguans will have only weeks to decide between trying to regularize their situation by another route or facing an uncertain future.

The impact will also reach the local economy in sectors such as construction, hospitality, cleaning, and caregiving services, where TPS beneficiaries have been employed for years.

A Pattern of the Trump Administration

The end of TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua adds to Trump’s broader policy of restricting humanitarian benefits.

The White House had already announced the cancellation of TPS for 350,000 Venezuelans and half a million Haitians.

In total, hundreds of thousands of immigrant families have been left at risk of deportation due to these measures.

Critics argue that the administration has used immigration as the central axis of its political agenda, reinforcing a hardline message against migrants.

What’s Next

Immigrant advocacy organizations say they will appeal again and seek injunctions to stop deportations.

The case could escalate to the Supreme Court, which has already upheld other presidential decisions on immigration.

Meanwhile, affected families face an uncertain future and fear that the loss of TPS will be the beginning of mass deportations.

Lawyers warn that without a legislative solution in Congress, the protection could disappear permanently.

The legal battle continues, but for now the appeals court has taken a decisive step in favor of Trump’s policy.