In a separate blow to DHS, a federal judge in Massachusetts issued a temporary restraining order on December 31, 2025, stopping the planned termination of Temporary Protected Status for approximately 300 South Sudanese nationals that was set for January 6, 2026.
The lawsuit, filed by civil-rights organizations, alleges that the administration relied on a politically convenient—but factually unsupported—picture of “renewed peace” in South Sudan while ignoring ongoing civil conflict, famine risk and the government’s refusal to accept deportees. The court held that plaintiffs demonstrated a likelihood of success on claims that DHS acted arbitrarily and with discriminatory intent.
![Massachusetts Court Halts Termination of South Sudanese TPS Days Before Deadline]()
TPS holders from South Sudan work largely in elder care and manufacturing hubs in the Midwest and along the East Coast. An abrupt loss of status would have left employers scrambling during peak first-quarter production. The injunction preserves employment eligibility and allows families to keep valid driver’s licenses and advance-parole travel until the case is fully litigated.
Organizations and individuals navigating the complexities of TPS renewals and related travel authorizations can turn to VisaHQ for streamlined support. The platform’s United States portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-states/) offers real-time guidance, document checklists, and application assistance to help keep compliance efforts on track.
For global mobility managers, the ruling underscores the necessity of tracking litigation-risk to workforce planning. Companies are advised to download the court order, issue internal FAQ sheets to supervisors and remind HR teams to annotate I-9s with the automatic 180-day EAD extension triggered by the court’s decision.
The lawsuit, filed by civil-rights organizations, alleges that the administration relied on a politically convenient—but factually unsupported—picture of “renewed peace” in South Sudan while ignoring ongoing civil conflict, famine risk and the government’s refusal to accept deportees. The court held that plaintiffs demonstrated a likelihood of success on claims that DHS acted arbitrarily and with discriminatory intent.
TPS holders from South Sudan work largely in elder care and manufacturing hubs in the Midwest and along the East Coast. An abrupt loss of status would have left employers scrambling during peak first-quarter production. The injunction preserves employment eligibility and allows families to keep valid driver’s licenses and advance-parole travel until the case is fully litigated.
Organizations and individuals navigating the complexities of TPS renewals and related travel authorizations can turn to VisaHQ for streamlined support. The platform’s United States portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-states/) offers real-time guidance, document checklists, and application assistance to help keep compliance efforts on track.
For global mobility managers, the ruling underscores the necessity of tracking litigation-risk to workforce planning. Companies are advised to download the court order, issue internal FAQ sheets to supervisors and remind HR teams to annotate I-9s with the automatic 180-day EAD extension triggered by the court’s decision.
