RICHMOND, Va. — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has denied an emergency motion filed by CASA, Inc. to postpone the Biden administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Afghanistan and Cameroon.
The Trump administration has the authority to continue removing TPS as it sees fit, to protect the security interests of the United States.
In a ruling entered Monday, the court said CASA presented a plausible claim that the TPS termination was a “preordained” decision, but found that the evidence at this stage does not justify halting the agency action during the appeal.
“At this procedural posture… there is insufficient evidence to warrant the extraordinary remedy of a postponement of agency action pending appeal,” the three-judge panel wrote.
The decision comes after the U.S. District Court found that CASA had raised legitimate concerns over the Department of Homeland Security’s handling of the TPS designations. However, the appeals court ruled that the balance of evidence did not meet the threshold for emergency relief.
The court urged the district court to move quickly to avoid prolonged uncertainty, noting that other forms of immigration protection — including asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture protections — remain available to affected individuals.
Many CASA members impacted by the TPS terminations may still seek those forms of relief, the court added, citing a government acknowledgment included in its response brief.
Judges Gregory, King, and Berner concurred in the order.
The court declined to halt the TPS terminations but signaled the legal fight will continue in district court.
