A group of South Sudanese migrants and an advocacy organization sued the Trump administration Monday, seeking to block the termination of temporary protections that shield them from deportation.
The federal lawsuit, filed in Boston by four individuals and African Communities Together, challenges the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to end Temporary Protected Status for South Sudan.
The plaintiffs argue the move violates the law governing the program and disregards persistent dangerous conditions in the East African nation.
Temporary Protected Status provides work authorization and deportation relief to eligible nationals of countries beset by armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary circumstances.
The decision, announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Nov. 5, is scheduled to take effect Jan. 5. The lawsuit states that approximately 232 South Sudanese currently benefit from the status, with an additional 73 applications pending.
“This pattern reveals the administration’s true agenda: stripping protections from immigrant communities of color regardless of the dangers they face,” said Amaha Kassa, executive director of African Communities Together.
The Department of Homeland Security has not issued a response to inquiries.
South Sudan, which gained independence in 2011, has been gripped by sustained violence, including a civil war from 2013 to 2018 that killed an estimated 400,000 people. The U.S. first designated South Sudan for Temporary Protected Status in 2011.
The administration has made similar determinations to end the protections for nationals of Syria, Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua, many of which are also being challenged in U.S. courts.