The Trump administration has agreed to temporarily halt efforts to end Temporary Protected Status for Honduras and Nepal.

The move comes one month after TPS holders from the two countries sued the administration and after a federal judge in California issued a nationwide temporary injunction in a separate case to stop the administration from terminating TPS for Haiti, Sudan, Nicaragua and El Salvador.

In a joint filing, attorneys for the plaintiffs and the government said the claims in the case involving Honduras and Nepal were similar to those in the first case, and that it made sense for the government to halt the termination of TPS for Honduras and Nepal until the initial injunction is resolved on appeal. The parties agreed that TPS for Honduras and Nepal would be terminated no less than 120 days from the issuance of a possible appellate ruling lifting the current injunction.

BAL Analysis: TPS for Honduras had been set to expire on Jan. 5, 2020, while TPS for Nepal had been set to expire on June 24, 2019. The agreement means that the status quo on the validity of TPS documents and work authorization for TPS beneficiaries for the two countries will be preserved at least for 120 additional days from any adverse ruling if the government succeeds in lifting the injunction on appeal of the initial case, Ramos, et al, v. Nielsen. BAL will continue following developments in the Ramos case and will provide updates as information becomes available.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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