DHS terminated Temporary Protected Status for South Sudanese nationals over disputed 'improved conditions' claim

On November 5, 2025, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem signed a notice terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for South Sudanese nationals, published in the Federal Register the following day and set to take effect January 5, 2026. TPS for South Sudan had been in place since 2011, when the country broke away from Sudan, and had been repeatedly renewed amid ongoing fighting, mass displacement, and regional instability. Noem's notice stated that "with the renewed peace in South Sudan, their demonstrated commitment to ensuring the safe reintegration of returning nationals, and improved diplomatic relations, now is the right time to conclude what was always intended to be a temporary designation," referring to a 2018 peace agreement.

A lawsuit filed by African Communities Together and several South Sudanese nationals alleged DHS had acted unlawfully and that ending TPS would expose people to a country facing what the plaintiffs described as one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. On December 30, 2025, U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley in Boston granted an emergency injunction blocking the termination from taking effect, finding the stated basis for the termination was contradicted by a United Nations panel of experts' November 2025 report to the UN Security Council, which described "ongoing conflict and aerial bombardments, coupled with flooding and the influx of returnees and refugees from the Sudan," leading to "near-record levels of food insecurity" and "pockets of famine" in parts of the country.

The termination is part of a broader administration effort to end Temporary Protected Status for nationals of several countries — including Syria, Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, and Nicaragua — that has prompted multiple court challenges.

Updates

2025-12-30 — Federal judge blocked the termination from taking effect [1, 2]

U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley granted African Communities Together's request for an emergency injunction, preventing South Sudan's TPS designation from expiring on its scheduled January 5, 2026 date while the underlying lawsuit proceeds.

2026-06-25 — Supreme Court curtailed judicial review of TPS terminations [4]

In Mullin v. Doe, the Supreme Court held that the TPS statute's judicial-review bar applies to non-constitutional claims challenging the Secretary's termination determinations — a ruling brought in a case over Haiti and Syria's TPS terminations but applicable to the pending South Sudan litigation.

2026-07-31 — First Circuit reversed the injunction blocking the termination [5]

The First Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court orders blocking TPS terminations for South Sudan and Ethiopia, applying Mullin v. Doe to hold the plaintiffs' non-constitutional claims could not proceed. A DHS spokesperson called the ruling "a win for the rule of law and common sense."

2026-08-07 — District judge lifted the block, clearing the way for termination [6]

U.S. District Judge Patti Saris lifted the administrative order that had prevented DHS from ending South Sudan's TPS designation, following the Supreme Court and First Circuit rulings; DHS's general counsel said the termination — affecting roughly 232 South Sudanese TPS holders — could now proceed.