United States: Federal District Court Allows Termination of TPS for Ethiopia to Proceed
August 18, 2026
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At a glance
- A federal district court in Massachusetts has lifted a temporary stay that paused the Trump Administration’s planned termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ethiopia, though the lawsuit challenging the termination on constitutional grounds will proceed.
- Employment authorization for Ethiopian TPS beneficiaries was set to expire on August 19, but USCIS announced late Tuesday that work authorization is terminated effective August 18.
The issue
A federal district court has lifted its stay of the termination of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Ethiopia, though a lawsuit challenging the termination on constitutional grounds will continue. The case is African Communities Together et al., v. Noem et al., 1:26-cv-10278 (D. Mass., Jan. 22, 2026).
Employment authorization for Ethiopian TPS beneficiaries was set to expire on August 19, under a brief extension announced by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services last week. However, USCIS announced late Tuesday that work authorization is terminated effective August 18.
Background
Ethiopia was first designated for TPS in December 2022, and the designation was extended in April 2024 for an 18-month period, from June 13, 2024 through December 12, 2025. In December 2025, DHS announced that it was not extending the designation, but would provide a 60-day transition period through February 13, 2026, during which beneficiaries would remain work-authorized. A lawsuit was filed, asserting that the termination violated the plaintiffs’ right to equal protection under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution and that the termination was procedurally flawed. In January of this year, a federal district court temporarily stayed the termination while the litigation proceeded.
Since that time, USCIS has automatically extended the validity of Ethiopia TPS employment authorization several times, most recently through August 19, 2026. Those extensions came as district courts took steps to implement the Supreme Court’s June 2026 decision holding that federal courts are not permitted to review TPS determinations on non-constitutional grounds. The court’s lifting of the stay against Ethiopia TPS termination is the most recent in a series of court orders implementing the Supreme Court decision.
What’s next for Ethiopia TPS
The federal district court will continue to hear plaintiffs’ constitutional challenge to the termination of TPS for Ethiopia. However, TPS benefits will cease for grantees from Ethiopia and their employment authorization documents on August 18. The EAD expiration affects beneficiaries whose EADs have an original expiration date of June 12, 2024, or Dec. 12, 2025.
If you have questions about this alert, or any issue related to employment authorization under Temporary Protected Status, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen. This alert is for informational purposes only.
