A Court of Appeal has Authorized the Trump administration To put an end to a program which grants protections and temporary work permits to more than 10,000 people from Afghanistan and Cameroon.
In a brief ordinance on Monday, the American court of appeal for the 4th circuit wrote that the applicant – a defense group for immigration defenders called Casa – has a plausible case against the administration for having chosen to end the temporary protected status, or TPS, for Afghans and Cameroonians. But the court said that “the evidence is insufficient to justify the extraordinary appeal” from preventing it from the government from suppressing the TPS while the trial is making its way before the courts.
A week ago, the court of appeal temporarily blocked The Trump administration ended TPS for Afghanistan for a week, when it considered the merits of the Casa case.
The administration had planned to end the Afghans program last week. The program should end for Cameroonians in two weeksAugust 4.
The Court of Appeal ordered a lower court on Monday to “move quickly” to hear the case.
Around 11,700 Afghans And 5,200 Cameroonians The Government is registered at the TPS. But around 3,600 of Afghans and 200 Cameroonians have green cards, so they will not be affected. Those who lose their TPS protections can request asylum or another form of legal status, but if not, they will risk expelling.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Internal Security, Tricia McLaughlin, described the decision “another victory for the American people and the security of our communities”.
“TPS has never been intended to be a de facto asylum program, but it has been mistreated as one for decades. DHS files indicate that there are Afghan nationals who are REPS recipients who have been the subject of administrative investigations for fraud, public security and national security,” said McLaughlin.
The spokesperson for the White House, Abigail Jackson, described the TPS “temporary service initiated at the discretion of the President and the Secretary of Internal Security”, and declared that the administration had been “justified on appeal because the court of appeal correctly interpreted the law as being written”.
Afghanevac, a group that helped move the Afghans, said in a statement that he was “deeply alarmed” by the decision on Monday.
“Lives will be upset. Families will be separated. The allies will be detained, expelled or forced to hide – while their legal rights remain unstable,” said Afghanevac president Shawn Vandiver, in a statement on Monday evening.
CBS News contacted Casa to comment.
The Trump administration has asked for months to retreat TPS, a program which allows the government to grant relief from expulsion and work permits for people whose countries of origin are deemed dangerous due to natural disasters or war.
The government argues that the TPS program is intended to be temporary and that Cameroon and Afghanistan are now sufficiently safe for TPS beneficiaries to return.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration said The security situation and the Afghanistan economy improved despite the takeover of the country in 2021 of the Taliban after the withdrawal of the American army. And the government said a pair of armed conflicts in Cameroon – including a separatist conflict and an insurrection of the extremist group Boko Haram, that the United States designated A foreign terrorist organization in 2013 – is “contained in limited regions” and does not jeopardize the personal security of people in most of the country.
“This administration refers the TPS to its original temporary intention,” said internal security secretary Kristi Noem in a May declaration announcing the decision of Afghanistan.
The State Department has placed an opinion of “not traveling” on Afghanistan, warning of the risk of “civil disorders, crime, terrorism, risk of unjustified detention, removal and limited health establishments”. The ministry advises travelers from Cameroon to be cautious and not to go to certain parts of the country due to armed violence, crime and terrorism.
HAS argued in court documents That the two countries are not safe and that the TPS beneficiaries could be endangered if they are forced to return to their country of origin. The group claims that the conflict in Cameroon – which involves English -speaking separatists in a mainly French -speaking country – has created a humanitarian crisis and destroyed the economy of the African country. And people from Afghanistan, the Group noteswere made eligible for TPS due to the repression of the Taliban and the conflict between groups of the group and the Islamic State.
Casa also argues that the administration has not followed the correct legal processes to end TPS, and maintains that the decision was “predetermined” based in part On “Racial Animus”.
“This animus is highlighted by the efforts of the Trump administration to eliminate lawful immigration status for non-citizens of countries, according to the administration group said.
Earlier this month, a judge of the lower court denied DHS ‘request to reject the Casa trial, but also rejected the CASA’s request to stop the administration policy. Casa called on, which made him reach the 4th circuit.
The Trump administration has sought to finish the TPS for hundreds of thousands of other migrants from Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti. In May, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to end the PD for Venezuelan migrants.
contributed to this report.
