US judge temporarily blocks move to end work permits for asylum seekers and TPS holders

WASHINGTON: A federal judge in Boston has temporarily stopped the Trump administration from moving ahead with measures that would have stripped tens of thousands of asylum seekers and immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) of their ability to work in the United States.

US District Judge Nathaniel Gorton ruled on Tuesday in favour of immigrant rights organisations and labour unions that challenged the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) over a set of policies tied to immigration restrictions enacted by Congress last year. His order will remain in effect until he decides whether to impose a longer-term halt, which he said he would determine by August 5.

The dispute centres on provisions in President Donald Trump's tax and spending law, passed by the Republican-led Congress in July 2025, which for the first time imposed asylum application fees and limited work authorisation for people covered by TPS. That status allows migrants from countries affected by war, natural disasters or other crises to live and work in the United States while conditions remain unsafe in their home countries.

The lawsuit, filed by Democracy Forward, argued that USCIS had unlawfully put the new legal provisions into effect. The plaintiffs said one of the policies would have caused thousands of TPS holders from El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine to lose their work authorisation as early as Wednesday. They also contended that USCIS improperly shortened the period during which TPS holders could legally work by applying the restrictions retroactively to people from those three countries.

Challenge to USCIS implementation

The plaintiffs said the USCIS policies were invalid because the agency introduced them without first giving the public notice and an opportunity to comment, as required under the Administrative Procedure Act. They further argued that the 2025 law's work authorisation provisions for TPS holders were being applied retroactively without statutory authority.

Gorton did not stop USCIS from collecting the new fee at this stage. However, he said the agency could not revoke work permits or impose other penalties on those who did not pay it while the temporary order remains in place.

Skye Perryman, Democracy Forward's president and CEO, welcomed the ruling and said in a statement that it ensures thousands of families will not lose their livelihoods while the courts examine whether the administration's policies are lawful.

Broader immigration backdrop

The Trump administration has been pursuing the termination of TPS protections for people from more than a dozen countries as part of its broader immigration agenda. Last month, the US Supreme Court allowed the administration to proceed in the case of thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrants.

At the same time, TPS for people from El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine had been extended in January. TPS remains valid for El Salvador until September 9, and for Sudan and Ukraine until October 19.

The case was filed in Boston, which has become a frequent venue for legal challenges to Trump's policies. It was assigned to Gorton, one of the few judges on that court not appointed by a Democrat; he was appointed by former Republican president George H W Bush. USCIS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.