What You Need to Know
Advocates for immigrant rights have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s recent decision to end temporary protection for over 200 South Sudanese nationals. The lawsuit claims that the Department of Homeland Security violated the law and the Constitution, alleging racial discrimination and targeting based on ethnicity.
Africa. Advocates for immigrant rights have filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s decision last month to terminate temporary protection for over 200 South Sudanese nationals.
The plaintiffs accuse the Department of Homeland Security of violating the law and the Constitution, alleging “racial discrimination” and targeting based on ethnicity.
Four South Sudanese migrants, along with the nonprofit organization “African Communities Together,” filed the lawsuit in a federal court in Boston on Monday. They claim that the Department of Homeland Security is unlawfully putting migrants at risk of losing their temporary protected status after January 5.
This status, known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS), is granted to individuals from countries experiencing natural disasters, armed conflict, or other extraordinary events. It allows eligible migrants to obtain work permits and temporary protection from deportation.
The lawsuit states that the Department’s action violates the law governing TPS and ignores the ongoing humanitarian crises in South Sudan, asserting that the motivation behind the action is discrimination against non-white migrants in violation of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Amaha Kassa, the executive director of “African Communities Together,” stated, “This pattern reveals the true agenda of the administration: to strip non-white immigrant communities of protection regardless of the risks they face.”
South Sudan has faced recurring bouts of violent conflict since 2011, with a civil war from 2013 to 2018 resulting in the deaths of approximately 400,000 people.
The United States designated South Sudanese nationals as eligible for TPS in 2011. As of now, 232 South Sudanese nationals have benefited from TPS, finding refuge in the United States, while 73 others have pending applications for the same protection.
On November 5, Homeland Security Secretary Kristjen Nielsen announced the termination of TPS for South Sudan, stating that the country no longer meets the criteria for the designation. This move follows the Department’s efforts to end TPS for nationals from other countries, including Syria, Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, and Nicaragua, leading to several legal challenges.
South Sudan has faced recurring bouts of violent conflict since its independence in 2011, with a civil war from 2013 to 2018 resulting in the deaths of approximately 400,000 people. The United States designated South Sudanese nationals as eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in 2011, allowing them to live and work in the U.S. due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in their home country.
