The renegade district court judges and legislators have had their day basking in the fawning love of the media and the woke; now it’s raining
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The rulings issued and laws enacted that sought to dictate and rewrite federal immigration law have been repeatedly struck down by appellate courts, yet it’s usually been only the initial action that’s gotten attention. Yesterday saw three more reversals; will our thought-shapers report the news? Doubtful.
“T” sands for Temporary:
“T” stands for Temporary: Appeals court backs Noem move to end TPS protections for Nepal, Honduras, Nicaragua
A federal appeals court in San Francisco granted a stay allowing the government to proceed with terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from Nepal, Honduras and Nicaragua.
The reliably liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order freezing a lower court ruling that would have vacated Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision to end the protections.
The court found the government was likely to succeed on the grounds that the DHS decision was not "arbitrary or capricious," suggesting that the decision-making process was rational.
Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua all originally received TPS protections due to specific environmental disasters. Nepal was designated in 2015 following a massive earthquake, while Honduras and Nicaragua received protections in 1999 after Hurricane Mitch.
Last year, Noem sought to terminate refugee status for the three long-protected countries, arguing that under TPS, the government must check if the initial reasons for their protection still apply.
Noem's ruling was previously challenged by the National TPS Alliance, who argued it was "arbitrary and capricious" and violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
On December 31, 2025, a San Francisco district court judge sided with the plaintiffs and canceled Secretary Noem's termination order.
A Los Angeles‑based federal judge on Monday blocked California from enforcing its law that would require ICE agents to remove masks during immigration enforcement operations.
Judge Christina Snyder, appointed during the Clinton administration, granted a preliminary injunction against the "No Secret Police Act," arguing that it discriminated against the federal government by violating the Supremacy Clause.
Under the constitutional clause, federal law takes precedence over any conflicting state or local law, rendering the lower-level law unenforceable.
For over a year, President Donald Trump's team has tangled with activist judges who act as if they run the executive branch. These activists in black robes think they can dictate policy on border security, national defense, and pretty much everything the executive branch does. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has become the poster child for this judicial overreach. Last week, the Trump administration finally decided it had enough of his illegitimate orders, and told him, in so many words, to pound sand.
“The Trump administration will not comply with a court order requiring due process for hundreds of Venezuelan migrants deported to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador last year, DOJ lawyers said,” reports Fox News Digital. “It sets up a heated clash in court next week in a case that is almost certainly headed back to the Supreme Court.”
The status and plight of 252 Venezuelan migrants deported to a Salvadoran prison last March under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act have emerged as one of the defining court fights of Trump’s second term, allowing the administration to test its mettle against the federal courts and the practical limits of judicial authority, on one of Trump’s biggest policy priorities.
It's a fight that has also put U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who is overseeing the Alien Enemies Act case, squarely in the Trump administration's crosshairs as he attempts to determine what due process protections, if any, the administration is legally obligated to provide and how far the courts can go to enforce them.
A new filing from the Justice Department made clear the administration believes it owes the migrants no additional due process at all. Should the court try to order otherwise, lawyers for the administration said they would promptly seek intervention from higher courts.