Washington: A US federal judge has stopped the government from ending deportation protections for migrants from Myanmar, allowing them to remain in the country while a legal case continues.
Judge Matthew Kennelly ruled that the Trump administration cannot cancel Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for people from Myanmar for now. His order keeps the protection in place for about 4,000 migrants who live and work legally in the United States.
The government had decided in November to end TPS for Myanmar, saying conditions in the country had improved. The judge said this decision did not appear to be supported by clear evidence and raised concerns that it was driven by broader immigration policy goals rather than real changes on the ground.
TPS is a program that allows people from countries facing war, natural disasters or severe instability to stay temporarily in the United States and avoid deportation. Myanmar has been under military rule and continues to face armed conflict and political unrest.
Lawyers for the migrants argued that sending them back would put their lives at risk because of violence and repression in Myanmar. The judge agreed that the issue deserved careful review and ruled that the protections should stay in place while the case is heard.
A further court hearing is scheduled for early February. Until then, migrants from Myanmar who are covered by TPS can continue to live and work in the United States legally.
The decision is part of a wider legal battle over immigration policies, as courts review attempts by the administration to scale back humanitarian protections for migrants from several countries.