Federal Court Blocks Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Yemen
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) for Yemeni nationals that was set to take effect on May 4, 2026, preserving – at least for now – the protections and work authorization of approximately 3,000 Yemenis in the United States.
TPS is a humanitarian program that allows nationals of designated countries to live and work lawfully in the United States when conditions back home, such as armed conflict, natural disaster, or other extraordinary circumstances, make return unsafe. Yemen has been designated for TPS since 2015, when a civil war broke out, and the designation has been extended several times under both the Obama and Biden administrations. However, the current administration has moved aggressively in the opposite direction, terminating TPS for 11 countries to date.
The federal court found that the agency’s decision to terminate TPS for Yemeni nationals was procedurally flawed. Under the TPS statute, the Secretary of Homeland Security has broad discretion to extend or end a designation, but only after consulting with other appropriate government agencies about conditions in the country. Here, the judge found that consultation amounted to little more than a “cursory email thread” between DHS and the State Department, and the judge wrote that the consultation requirement “is not a mere box-checking exercise.” The court also pointed to the human stakes behind the legal question, noting that the plaintiffs include a pregnant woman in Detroit whose unborn child has a heart condition that cannot be treated in Yemen, and a former human rights worker targeted by Houthi-aligned militias.
It is worth emphasizing that this is only a preliminary order. Protections remain in place while the litigation continues, and DHS has already signaled that it disagrees with the ruling and is working with the Department of Justice on next steps, which is likely an expedited appeal.
In the meantime, USCIS has updated its TPS Yemen Webpage and issued an I-9 Central Alert confirming that Yemen TPS-related Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) with original expiration dates of March 3, 2023, September 3, 2024, or March 3, 2026 are extended through July 1, 2026 by court order. Employers reverifying affected employees should follow the specific Form I-9 and E-Verify steps set out in the USCIS alert and keep a saved or printed copy of that guidance in the employee’s I-9 file.
We will continue to monitor the litigation and will share updates as the situation evolves. This alert is for informational purposes only. Please contact us if you would like to discuss this development further.