Press Contacts
Linda Paris, Washington Lawyers’ Committee, (202) 308-5186, [email protected]
Jossie Flor Sapunar, CASA, 240-706-2624, [email protected]
Samuel P. Siegel, Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, (202) 661-6548, [email protected]
WASHINGTON – On May 7, CASA sued the Trump administration over its unlawful attempt to rob thousands of Afghans and Cameroonians with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) of their lawful immigration status.
Represented by the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) at Georgetown Law and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, the lawsuit challenges Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s unprecedented attempt to terminate the TPS designations for Afghanistan and Cameroon without following the statutorily mandated notice procedures for doing so. Termination places in danger thousands of Afghan and Cameroonian TPS holders currently living and working lawfully in this country. Removal would mean returning to countries afflicted by prolonged armed conflicts, hunger, and human rights abuses.
O.M. is a senior citizen, CASA member, and TPS holder from Cameroon. She calls Maryland her home after she fled violence in Cameroon. She works as a home health assistant, helping people with disabilities, and she relies on her TPS status for her work authorization. O.M. is afraid of losing TPS protections because it would put the life she’s worked hard to build in the U.S. in danger. “Losing TPS exposes me to the risk of being forced to return to a country where I am not safe. I faced physical abuse all because of my religious faith when I lived in Cameroon. I can’t go back and suffer that again. This is my home.”
On April 11, 2025, news media reported that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs had emailed a statement to the press indicating that Secretary Noem had terminated the TPS designations for Afghanistan and Cameroon. To date, DHS has not published the statutorily required notice of its decision to terminate the designations of both countries in the Federal Register.
“Congress required the Secretary of Homeland Security to publish notice of a determination to end TPS status at least 60 days before the end of the current designation period,” said Sam Siegel, senior counsel at ICAP. “This was for a reason – to give TPS holders ample notice of any change in their status and provide stability to allow them to build a successful life in the United States until conditions in their home country improve.”
The complaint asserts that notice of TPS terminations by email to the press does not comply with the strict process established by Congress. To this day, DHS has failed to follow these legally required steps, sowing confusion and fear among TPS recipients from both countries. DHS’s failure means that, by law, TPS designations for both Afghanistan and Cameroon are extended for a minimum of six months from the current expiration date.
“Congress replaced the previous system of arbitrary presidential actions with a clear process,” said Ryan Downer, legal director of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. “The statute governs the provision of temporary immigration relief for people fleeing natural disaster and violence. It also says how that temporary status can be ended. DHS did not do even the bare minimum to follow the rules. You can’t terminate TPS on a whim.”
The complaint asserts that the TPS termination decisions were motivated in part by racial animus in violation of the Fifth Amendment guarantee of equal protection in the US Constitution. As evidence, it documents the Trump Administration’s efforts to eliminate lawful immigration status for individuals from countries that the Administration believes are predominantly nonwhite, while simultaneously removing immigration barriers to people from countries the Administration believes are predominately white.
“This heartless action is part of a broader strategy by the Trump administration to force out those it has deemed undesirable: low-income Black and brown people. From launching the “gold card” to prioritizing safe migration for majority white South Africans, the Trump administration has made clear that white and wealthy people are welcomed in Trump’s America. No one else,” said Nick Katz, CASA’s general counsel. “Our country should be fighting to keep Black and brown immigrant families together in the U.S. – families offering their love, labor, and light in search of a brighter future for themselves and their loved ones.”
“The TPS termination decisions are causing significant fear and uncertainty for our community members and their families. This Administration has a legal obligation, as established by Congress in the creation of the TPS program, to follow the law and protect individuals facing danger. Given the demonstrably dangerous conditions in Afghanistan and Cameroon, both communities urgently require and deserve continued TPS protection,” said Nils Kinuani, federal policy manager for African Communities Together (ACT).
CASA, standing up for its Afghan and Cameroonian TPS holders (some of whose stories are told in the complaint) asks the United States District Court for the District of Maryland to declare the purported terminations of both designations unlawful and to declare that the TPS designations for Afghanistan and Cameroon are extended until at least November 20, 2025, and December 7, 2025, respectively.
Read the complaint here.