01/24/2026
Great news!
Today, a federal court ordered the Trump administration to delay its termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Burma while a class action lawsuit challenging the termination moves forward.
In his decision, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew F. Kennelly wrote, "the pattern that the plaintiffs describe—the Secretary's termination of TPS at every opportunity against the backdrop of the President's efforts to eliminate TPS—suggests that the Secretary did not review the evidence regarding any of these countries, including Burma, as required by the TPS statute." Judge Kennelly also noted that allowing the termination of TPS for Burma to proceed at this juncture would present "significant, irreparable harms."
Last month, six Burmese TPS holders—on behalf of nearly 4,000 individuals—filed a class action lawsuit against the Trump administration for unlawfully terminating TPS for Burma. The class is represented by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), and the Law Offices of June J. Htun.
Without the court’s intervention, nearly 4,000 Burmese TPS holders would have lost their legal status and work authorization on January 26. If they had lost those TPS protections, they would have been at risk of being forced to return to Burma – a country that remains engulfed in violent conflict following a 2021 military coup, widespread human rights abuses, and unsafe conditions exacerbated by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake last year.
The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, a national organization founded in 1974, protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans.