United States: Ninth Circuit Stays District Court Order, Again Halting TPS Protection for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua While Appeal Continues

Termination of TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua was initiated during the first Trump Administration, and then withdrawn during the Biden Administration. After the second Trump Administration took office in late January 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) re-initiated the terminations.

At the time President Trump took office, the TPS designations for Honduras and Nicaragua had been set to expire on July 5, 2025. On July 7, 2025, DHS announced the termination of TPS for the two countries, with a 60-day transition period through September 8, 2025. Nepal’s TPS designation had been scheduled to expire on June 24, 2025. On June 6, 2025, DHS announced the termination of TPS for Nepal, with a 60-day transition period through August 5, 2025.

Advocacy groups and individuals filed the instant lawsuit in the Northern District of California to challenge these three TPS terminations under the Administrative Procedure Act and the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment. The district court case is National TPS Alliance et al. v. Noem et al., 25-cv-05687 (N.D. Ca.). While the legality of the government action was being litigated, the terminations were briefly paused during the summer of 2025. On July 31, the district court postponed the termination of the TPS designations until the court could hold a merits hearing. DHS appealed that decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and on August 20, the Ninth Circuit stayed the district court order; the designation for Nepal was considered expired as of August 20, 2025, and the designations for Honduras and Nicaragua expired on September 8, 2025.

On December 31, 2025, the California federal district court ruled on the merits and vacated the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) termination of TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua, holding that these terminations violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The government appealed the district court decision to the Ninth Circuit and requested a stay of the vacatur order while the appeal is pending. The Ninth Circuit has now granted that stay request while the appeal moves forward.

The Ninth Circuit decision means that while the appeal case is pending, TPS beneficiaries from Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua will not have TPS protection or related work authorization. While plaintiffs in the lawsuit have the option to appeal the Ninth Circuit decision to the Supreme Court, it should be noted that the Supreme Court has ruled in the government’s favor in similar litigation.