Court Case Update: National TPS Alliance v. Noem

In National TPS Alliance v. Noem the Ninth Circuit granted the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal of the district court’s December 31, 2025 partial final judgment vacating the Secretary of Homeland Security’s termination of TPS designations for Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The order restores the effectiveness of the 2025 termination notices while the appeal proceeds.

Key Facts The case concerns long-standing TPS designations:

• Nepal (designated 2015 following the Gorkha earthquake)
• Honduras and Nicaragua (designated 1999 following Hurricane Mitch)

In 2025, the Secretary published termination notices in the Federal Register:

• Nepal: 90 Fed. Reg. 24,151 (June 6, 2025)
• Nicaragua: 90 Fed. Reg. 30,086 (July 8, 2025)
• Honduras: 90 Fed. Reg. 30,089 (July 8, 2025)

A class action challenged the terminations on statutory and constitutional grounds. The district court found the decisions violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and vacated them.

Procedural History National TPS Alliance v. Noem

• District court (N.D. Cal., Judge Thompson): December 31, 2025 – partial final judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b) vacating the terminations.
• Government appealed and moved for stay pending appeal.
• Ninth Circuit (Hawkins, Callahan, Miller, JJ.): February 9, 2026 – granted stay; directed parties to submit proposed briefing schedule within seven days.

Legal Issues Presented

1. Whether 8 U.S.C. § 1254a(b)(5)(A) bars judicial review of the Secretary’s termination determinations.
2. Whether the Secretary’s termination decisions were arbitrary and capricious under the APA.

Statutes at issue: 8 U.S.C. § 1254a(b)(3) (review and termination authority), § 1254a(b)(5)(A) (jurisdictional bar).

Decision Summary

The Ninth Circuit stayed the district court’s vacatur order pending appeal. The court concluded the government is likely to succeed on the merits (either on jurisdiction or on the APA claims) and that the remaining Nken v. Holder stay factors favor the government.

Practical Implications

• TPS designations for Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua are once again terminated pending appeal.
• Affected nationals (approximately 60,000 individuals) lose TPS-based employment authorization and protection from removal unless they hold another form of relief.
• Employers must immediately verify work authorization for employees whose TPS-derived EADs were extended solely by the district court’s now-stayed vacatur.
• Re-designation or further extensions would require new Secretary action.

Policy and Compliance Considerations

The order reinforces congressional intent to limit judicial second-guessing of termination decisions while preserving review of actions (such as vacatur) that exceed statutory authority. It signals that terminations supported by an administrative record and agency consultation are likely to withstand APA challenge at the preliminary stage, consistent with recent Supreme Court shadow-docket guidance in analogous TPS litigation.

Key Takeaways

• The Ninth Circuit has stayed the district court vacatur, restoring the Secretary’s 2025 termination decisions for Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
• Termination of TPS remains a discretionary, statutorily authorized action subject to a strong jurisdictional bar under § 1254a(b)(5)(A).
• Courts continue to distinguish between termination (reviewable only in narrow circumstances) and vacatur of prior extensions (potentially ultra vires).
• Employers and TPS holders must treat the terminations as effective pending further appellate proceedings.
• The ruling is consistent with Supreme Court stays in related Venezuela TPS cases and underscores limited equitable relief available against facially authorized terminations.
• Briefing on the merits will now proceed; further Supreme Court involvement remains possible.

Read Order in National TPS Alliance v. Noem