A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from revoking Temporary Protected Status for nearly 3,000 Yemeni nationals. The ruling comes after a lawsuit filed by 16 Yemeni individuals who have or are applying for TPS.
The Trump administration aimed to terminate TPS for Yemen, which was first designated in 2015 due to ongoing conflict. This program provides essential deportation protections for individuals from countries experiencing humanitarian crises.
As of May 4, 2026, the TPS program was set to expire before the judge intervened. U.S. District Judge Dale Ho found that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) likely acted unlawfully in its decision to end TPS.
The judge criticized former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem for failing to follow necessary procedures in this matter. He stated, “TPS holders from Yemen are not ‘killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.’ They are ordinary, law-abiding people who have been granted status to be here because the Government has repeatedly determined that Yemen is subject to an ongoing armed conflict.”
Currently, around 2,800 Yemeni nationals are allowed to live and work temporarily in the U.S. Without this ruling, they would have faced deportation within 60 days.
The State Department maintains a Level 4 travel advisory for Yemen due to severe terrorism threats and civil unrest. This situation continues to evolve as legal battles unfold.
