BALTIMORE — Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown has joined a coalition of 14 state attorneys general in filing a legal brief opposing the federal government’s move to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua.
The amicus brief was filed in National TPS Alliance v. Noem in response to actions taken by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. On June 6, DHS announced the end of TPS protections for approximately 7,200 Nepali nationals, and on July 8, the department extended the revocation to include 51,000 Hondurans and 2,900 Nicaraguans.
TPS, established by Congress in 1990, offers humanitarian protection to individuals from countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions.
“Ending TPS for immigrants from Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua would force thousands of Marylanders to choose between abandoning their families or returning to dangerous conditions in their countries of origin,” Brown said.
The brief argues that revoking TPS would have far-reaching effects on U.S. citizen children and families. According to 2022 data, more than 100,000 U.S. citizens lived in mixed-status households with TPS holders from the three countries, including 68,000 with Honduran holders, 23,000 with Nepali holders, and 13,000 with Nicaraguan holders.
The attorneys general request the court to issue preliminary relief to delay the terminations and prevent potential family separations and economic disruption.
Attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and the District of Columbia joined Brown in filing the brief.
Legal challenge aims to block DHS move that would revoke TPS for over 60,000 immigrants and impact more than 100,000 U.S. citizens in mixed-status homes.
