The ruling delays the Feb. 13 deadline amid broader legal challenges to Trump’s immigration crackdown, which affects 5,000 people.

A federal judge has ended the Trump administration’s plan to strip thousands of Ethiopians living in the United States of deportation protections.

Boston Judge Brian Murphy issued the order on Friday, pushing back the Feb. 13 deadline. forced More than 5,000 Ethiopians must leave the country or face arrest.

The ruling is the latest legal setback for the government’s broader efforts to end temporary protections for more than a million people in multiple countries.

Murphy, whose decision came during a virtual hearing, said delaying the decision would give the Department of Homeland Security time to produce records explaining its decision-making process before he considers blocking the move for longer.

“I want to do whatever it takes to keep this case going,” the judge said.

The case was brought by three Ethiopian nationals and the advocacy group African Communities, who announced in December that termination Ethiopia was granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for the first time in 2022.

The lawsuit alleges that the government unlawfully terminated the protections with just 60 days’ notice despite ongoing armed conflict in the African country.

The plaintiffs also claim Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem acted based on “unconstitutional hostility toward non-white immigrants.”

Although the State Department continues to urge Americans to take this step Rethink travel The deportations were made to Ethiopia due to “sporadic violence, civil unrest, crime, communication disruptions, terrorism and kidnapping”.

The Department of Homeland Security defended the termination, pointing to recent peace deals, including the 2022 Tigray ceasefire agreement, despite updated Fighting broke out in the area this month.

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said TPS was “never intended to be a de facto amnesty program, but that’s what it has been used for decades by previous administrations.”

The day before, a federal appeals court made a similar ruling, ruling that the government unlawfully terminated protections for 600,000 Venezuelans.

The three-judge panel said Noem’s actions were based on “racist stereotypes” and left people in a “constant state of fear that they would be deported, detained, and separated from their families.”

About a dozen countries now face the end of TPS as part of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

About 350,000 Haitians will lose protection on February 3 and Somalis on March 17 deadline, The State Department has issued a “do not travel” warning to Somalia.

The legal battle comes after Minnesota immigration enforcement officers killed two U.S. citizens this month, sparking protests over the Trump administration’s deportation efforts.