The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued an administrative stay on Tuesday blocking the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for South Sudan.
The termination was scheduled to take effect on Jan. 6. DHS's termination would impact about 232 South Sudanese nations who currently hold lawful status in the country under the protections, in addition to approximately 73 South Sudanese nationals who have pending applications, putting them at risk of imminent deportation, according to court documents.
The lawsuit, which was brought by African Communities Together and several South Sudanese TPS holders, argued that ending TPS would immediately strip hundreds of South Sudanese nationals of lawful status, expose them to deportation and potentially cause irreversible harm if they are returned to South Sudan.
Judge Angel Kelley, who was nominated by former President Joe Biden in 2021, determined the issues were "legally complex" and carried "serious, long-term consequences, including the risk of deadly harm."
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South Sudanese nationals with TPS or pending applications will retain lawful status, work authorization and protection from deportation and detention.
South Sudan, a largely Christian country, gained independence in 2011 after a decades-long civil war with Sudan, a predominately Muslim country, making it the world's youngest nation.
Fighting began in December 2013 between government forces, the South Sudan People's Defense Forces (SSPDF), and opposition forces, the Sudan People's Liberation Army, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths and nearly 2 million displacements, according to a report from the Global Data Institute's Displacement Tracking Matrix.
A recent clash between the two forces in February has put civilians, particularly women and children, at extreme risk, with reports of conflict-related sexual violence, killings and abductions, according to the report.
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Neighboring Sudan is also experiencing displacement and human rights concerns spurred by the 2023 split of an alliance between the government-led Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
About 12 million people have been driven out of their homes, with RSF forces accused of preventing access to aid workers and humanitarian workers and of committing "summary executions, mass killings, rapes, attacks against humanitarian workers, looting, abductions and forced displacement," according to the U.N. Human Rights Office.
Drone strikes allegedly ordered by the RSF in early December struck a kindergarten and nearby hospital in Sudan's South Kordofan region, killing 114 people, including 63 children.
An administrative stay does not reflect a judgment on the merits of the case. DHS must file its opposition by Jan. 9, and the plaintiffs must file their reply by Jan. 13.
DHS did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Fox News' Chris Massaro contributed to this report.
