The Biden administration and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) asked the Ninth Circuit to stay and refer to mediation a suit to end deportation relief. Hundreds of thousands of people could be affected.

The request to “explore the possibility of a settlement” that will resolve the entire lawsuit is requested by the joint parties.

The U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment.

The lawsuit concerns the fate of hundreds of thousands of people who hold Temporary Protective Status (TPS). TPS is an immigration protection program that prevents the U.S. from deporting individuals to designated countries in crisis. TPS holders also receive work permits.

The previous administration worked to strip TPS status for holders from six nations: El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Nepal and Honduras. The Trump Administration quickly faced legal action.  Nepali and Honduran status holders obtained court orders preserving their status while the case progresses.

The four other nations also filed suit to save their status. They worked in conjunction with the ACLU. Subsequently, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen issued an injunction temporarily keeping the protections intact.

A split Ninth Circuit panel lifted the injunction in September. As a result, the TPS holders worked to gain an en banc rehearing of their case.

However, the Ninth Circuit agreed to pause the case while the Biden administration reviewed its predecessor’s TPS decisions. The ongoing review has since resulted in U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas renewing the protections for individuals from Haiti.

We continue to monitor developments on TPS and all immigration-related topics. If you have questions about your TPS status or how this effort may affect you, contact us at ILBSG.

immigration Temporary Protected Status TPS