A US federal judge on Tuesday temporarily stopped the Donald Trump administration from taking away the right to work from tens of thousands of asylum seekers and immigrants who have Temporary Protected Status, or TPS.
US District Judge Nathaniel Gorton in Boston ruled in favour of a group of immigrant rights organisations and labour unions that had gone to court to challenge the administration’s immigration policies.
The groups sued to stop US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from putting in place several new rules linked to immigration restrictions passed by Congress last year.
Gorton’s order is temporary. It will remain in place while he considers whether the Trump administration’s policy should be blocked for a longer period. The judge said he will decide on that by August 5.
What is Temporary Protected Status?
The case is linked to Temporary Protected Status, a programme that allows people from countries affected by war, natural disasters or other serious emergencies to live and work legally in the US while it remains unsafe for them to return home.
Trump’s major tax and spending law, passed by the Republican-controlled Congress in July 2025, introduced fees for people applying for asylum for the first time. It also placed new restrictions on work permits for people who have TPS.
The Trump administration has also been trying to end TPS protections for people from more than a dozen countries as part of the president’s tough immigration policies.
Last month, the US Supreme Court allowed the administration to end TPS protections for thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrants.
Work permits for thousands were at risk
The lawsuit was filed by the liberal legal group Democracy Forward along with immigrant rights groups and labour unions.
The groups argued that USCIS had not legally put the new rules into effect. They asked the court to stop the policies, especially one that could have caused thousands of TPS holders from El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine to lose their ability to work in the US starting Wednesday.
The groups said some of the new policies wrongly shortened the period for which TPS holders could legally work. They argued that USCIS was applying the new restrictions retroactively to people from El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine.
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, welcomed the judge’s decision.
In a statement, she said Gorton’s ruling “ensures that thousands of families will not lose their livelihoods” while the courts decide whether the Trump administration’s policies are legal.
TPS for three countries was extended under Biden
The administration of former Democratic President Joe Biden had extended TPS protections for people from El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine in January 2025.
At present, TPS protections for El Salvador are set to remain in place until September 9. For Sudan and Ukraine, they remain valid until October 19.
The groups challenging the Trump administration’s policies also argued that USCIS had failed to follow the proper legal process.
They said the public was not given notice or an opportunity to comment on the new policies before they were introduced, as required under the Administrative Procedure Act.
The plaintiffs also argued that USCIS had applied the work permit restrictions created under the 2025 law retroactively, even though Congress had not given the agency clear legal authority to do so.
Judge allows fee collection but blocks penalties
While Gorton temporarily stopped the administration from taking away work permits, he did not block USCIS from collecting the new fee for now.
However, he said the agency cannot take away the work permits of people who do not pay the fee. USCIS also cannot impose other penalties on them for failing to pay it.
The judge’s decision means that TPS holders covered by the order will not immediately lose their ability to work because of the new restrictions.
The case was filed in Boston, which has become a popular location for legal challenges against the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
The case was assigned to Gorton, one of the few judges on the court who was not appointed by a Democratic president. Gorton was appointed by Republican President George H.W. Bush.
The judge’s decision is only temporary for now. The next major step will come by August 5, when Gorton is expected to decide whether to keep blocking the Trump administration’s policy for a longer period.
