The Trump administration was dealt another court blow Friday as a federal judge in San Francisco blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for a group of migrants.
U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson issued a 37-page ruling arguing the move targeting Nicaraguan, Honduran, and Nepali immigrants was likely rooted in "racial and discriminatory animus," violating the Fifth Amendment, Fox News reported.
"Color is neither a poison nor a crime," the judge's ruling said. "Therefore, Plaintiffs have provided sufficient evidence to establish that Plaintiffs will likely succeed on the merits of their Fifth Amendment claim."
The ruling protects more than 60,000 immigrants currently living and working in the United States under TPS, which was scheduled to expire in September for Honduras and Nicaragua.
In the ruling, the judge rebuked Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over her statements that cast undocumented immigrants as "invaders" or "criminals," saying they "perpetuate the discriminatory belief that certain immigrant populations will replace the white population."
"Although the Secretary’s statements ‘may appear innocent or only mildly offensive to one who is not a member of the targeted group,’ the statements are ‘in reality . . . intolerably abusive or threatening when understood from the perspective of a plaintiff who is a member of the targeted group'," Thompson said.