Judge Extends Protections for Migrants From Nepal, Honduras and Nicaragua

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration on Thursday from ending deportation protections for more than 60,000 migrants from Nepal, Honduras and Nicaragua, writing in a withering order that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had perpetuated xenophobic stereotypes and racist conspiracy theories in her drive to suspend their legal status.

The administration’s actions have amounted to asking migrants “to atone for their race, leave because of their names and purify their blood,” Judge Trina L. Thompson of the Northern District of California wrote. “The court disagrees.”

The administration is trying to end protections for Hondurans, Nicaraguans and Nepalis through a program known as Temporary Protected Status, which is intended to shield migrants from deportation if their home countries are facing natural disasters or conflict. The changes were set to go into effect in the coming weeks, but Judge Thompson blocked them at least until a hearing set for Nov. 18.

“By stereotyping the T.P.S. program and immigrants as invaders that are criminal, and by highlighting the need for migration management, Secretary Noem’s statements perpetuate the discriminatory belief that certain immigrant populations will replace the white population,” she wrote.

“Color is neither a poison nor a crime,” she added.

Among other comments, Judge Thompson cited Ms. Noem’s reference to immigrants in a news interview as “some of the most dangerous people in the world” and her remarks that other countries were emptying “their prisons, their mental institutions” and sending those people to the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Thursday night.