US Appeals Court Paves Way for Deportation of Immigrants from Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua

A US appeals court on Monday opened the door for the deportation of immigrants from Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua by ending the legal protection previously granted to them.

The Trump administration last year decided to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of Honduran, Nepali, and Nicaraguan citizens, under which these immigrants were permitted to legally reside and work in the US.

Previously, a federal judge had ordered the administration not to implement that decision. However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday allowed the government to proceed with deportation proceedings even while an appeal against that order remains pending.

The court's decision stated, "The previous order halting the termination of TPS for Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua is stayed pending the completion of the appeal process."

The TPS program temporarily allows a limited group of people who might be at risk if returned to their home countries due to war, natural disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances to live and work in the US.

More than 51,000 Hondurans and nearly 3,000 Nicaraguan citizens who arrived in the US after devastating Hurricane Mitch struck the Central American region in 1998 received protection under TPS.

Similarly, about 7,000 Nepali citizens were granted temporary protection under this program following the devastating earthquake in Nepal in 2015.

Historically, US presidents have repeatedly renewed the TPS status of such immigrants, which protected them from being rendered undocumented and facing deportation.

However, Trump has promised to launch mass deportation campaigns. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen clarified on Monday that "TPS was never designed as a permanent program."

The Department of Homeland Security stated that in its decision to remove TPS, it concluded that conditions in those countries had improved and their citizens were in a position to return home safely.