Judge Blocks the Somalia Protected-Status Termination Again, Voiding It While She Weighs Discrimination Claims

U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs entered a new administrative stay on Friday, July 31, 2026, again blocking the end of Temporary Protected Status for Somalia. African Communities Together and other plaintiffs had filed an amended complaint the day before, alleging the termination was based on race and national origin in violation of the Fifth Amendment and citing a November 2025 Truth Social post in which Trump announced the end of the designation months before Homeland Security completed its review. Burroughs first stayed the termination on March 13.

The order came days after the First Circuit reversed similar stays in the Ethiopia and South Sudan cases, relying on the Supreme Court’s June decision in Mullin v. Doe, which limited lower courts’ ability to block TPS terminations on non-constitutional grounds. By resting on a constitutional claim, the Somalia plaintiffs are testing the boundary that decision drew.

DHS General Counsel James Percival wrote on X that the ruling reflected "defiance, obstruction, and delay." The stay is temporary; Burroughs has not ruled on a longer pause.