![Nogales is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 20,878 at the 2000 census. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,833.[2] The city is the county seat of Santa Cruz County.[3]
Nogales, Arizona, borders the city of Nogales, Sonora](/images/51fdfdff7907ac0e.jpg)
Biden-Appointed Judge Brian Murphy Again Blocks Trump DHS Move to End TPS for Ethiopians
Judge Brian Murphy, a 2024 Biden appointee, blocked the Trump-era Department of Homeland Security’s plan to terminate Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopia — a move that would have affected more than 5,000 Ethiopian TPS holders and, under DHS’s timetable, made them deportable within 60 days. Murphy’s memorandum said DHS acted “without regard for the process delineated by Congress” and framed the dispute in constitutional terms, while DHS condemned the decision as a stay by a “radical, Biden‑appointed” judge and said Ethiopia no longer meets TPS criteria; conservative critics contend courts lack jurisdiction over TPS determinations and point to recent Supreme Court stays in related cases.
📌 Key Facts
- U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, a Biden appointee from 2024, issued an April 8 memorandum and order blocking the Trump administration/DHS effort to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ethiopia, finding DHS acted “without regard for the process delineated by Congress.”
- The TPS termination, which then–DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had scheduled to take effect Feb. 13 at 11:59 p.m., never went into effect because of ongoing litigation; DHS’s termination timeline would have made more than 5,000 Ethiopian TPS holders deportable within 60 days.
- Murphy framed the dispute in constitutional terms, writing that “the will of the President does not supersede that of Congress” and that “presidential whims do not and cannot supplant agencies’ statutory obligations.”
- DHS criticized the ruling in a statement quoted to another outlet, calling it a stay by a “radical, Biden-appointed” judge, insisting “Temporary means temporary,” asserting Ethiopia no longer meets TPS criteria, and saying the administration is “putting Americans first.”
- Murphy noted the Supreme Court had issued emergency stays allowing TPS cancellations for some countries but not others and argued there is “no reason to assume” the Court’s position on the Ethiopian case from those prior stays.
- Conservative legal and political figures — including Sen. Eric Schmitt, Iowa Solicitor General Eric Wessan, and law professor Jonathan Turley — have accused Murphy of lacking subject-matter jurisdiction (citing statutory limits on judicial review of TPS determinations) and labeled him a “rogue” or “activist” trial judge who has clashed repeatedly with the Trump administration.
- Fox News situates the Ethiopian TPS ruling in a pattern of Murphy’s recent immigration-related orders (including earlier blocks on removals to third countries that the Supreme Court twice reversed) and notes he also recently issued a temporary block on HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s child-vaccine overhaul, fueling further conservative criticism.
📊 Relevant Data
In 2026, armed conflicts continue in Ethiopia, with clashes erupting in the Tigray Region between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and Ethiopian government forces on January 29, 2026, leading to renewed fighting and displacements.
2026 Ethiopia–TPLF clashes — Wikipedia
As of 2022, DHS estimated that approximately 26,700 Ethiopians residing in the United States were eligible to apply for TPS under the initial designation for Ethiopia.
Table 1. Countries Designated for TPS, as of March 31, 2025 — Congress.gov
Ethiopian immigrants in the United States have a median annual income of $41,357, which is below the overall U.S. median income of $50,000.
Mapping of Ethiopian Diasporas Residing in the United States of America — International Organization for Migration
Approximately 250,000 Ethiopians migrate internationally every year in the 2020s, driven by factors including economic development, social transformation, and a shift away from traditional education-focused life paths.
250,000 Ethiopians migrate every year: what drives them and what needs to change — The Conversation
Twelve percent of Ethiopian diaspora members age 25 and older in the United States had a master's degree, PhD, or an advanced professional degree, roughly equivalent to the 11 percent rate among U.S.-born individuals.
The Ethiopian Diaspora in the United States — Migration Policy Institute
📰 Source Timeline (3)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Fox details that the TPS block affects more than 5,000 Ethiopian TPS holders in the U.S. and would have made them deportable within 60 days under DHS’s termination timetable.
- The piece situates Murphy’s Ethiopian TPS ruling in a pattern of prior immigration clashes: his earlier orders blocking removal to third countries beyond migrants’ home nations, which the Supreme Court twice reversed, including via a rare 7–2 clarification accusing him of flouting its order.
- Murphy’s opinion notes that recent Supreme Court emergency stays green-lighting TPS cancellations for some countries, but not others, came without explanation, and he argues there is "no reason to assume" the Court’s position on the Ethiopian case from those stays.
- Conservative legal and political figures, including Sen. Eric Schmitt and Iowa Solicitor General Eric Wessan, publicly claim Murphy lacks subject-matter jurisdiction because federal law bars judicial review of TPS determinations, and cite the Supreme Court’s prior stays of similar orders.
- The article recalls that Murphy also recently issued a separate ruling temporarily blocking HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s child-vaccine overhaul, deepening conservative accusations that he is an "activist" judge selectively weighing science.
- Law professor Jonathan Turley is quoted labeling Murphy among "rogue operators" at the trial level and warning that the system cannot function if such judges ignore Supreme Court guidance.
- The Fox article quotes extensively from Judge Brian Murphy’s April 8 memorandum, emphasizing his finding that DHS terminated Ethiopia’s TPS designation 'without regard for the process delineated by Congress.'
- Murphy’s order frames the dispute in strong constitutional terms, stating that 'the will of the President does not supersede that of Congress' and that 'presidential whims do not and cannot supplant agencies’ statutory obligations.'
- The piece notes that then–DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had scheduled TPS termination for Feb. 13 at 11:59 p.m., but that effective date never took effect because of ongoing litigation.
- DHS, in a statement to CBS News quoted here, attacks the ruling as a stay by a 'radical, Biden-appointed' judge and insists 'Temporary means temporary,' claiming Ethiopia no longer meets TPS criteria and that the Trump administration 'is putting Americans first.'
- The article reminds readers that Murphy is a Biden appointee from 2024, setting up partisan framing that is already being echoed in administration talking points.
- Fox adds no new data on how many Ethiopians are covered but underscores that the White House and DHS have not yet commented directly to Fox while providing their talking-point defense via a statement to another outlet.