Judge Matthew Kennelly

A federal judge in Chicago has blocked the Trump administration from ending deportation protections for thousands of Myanmar nationals living in the United States, ruling that the government’s decision lacked a credible basis.

The order, issued by District Judge Matthew Kennelly on Friday, delays the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for around 4,000 people from Myanmar while a lawsuit challenging the policy continues. The administration had planned to end the programme on Monday, arguing that conditions in Myanmar had improved sufficiently for citizens to return.

Judge Kennelly disagreed, writing that the court “cannot discern a genuine basis for the Secretary’s action” and suggesting the move was more likely part of a broader effort to curtail immigration than a reflection of Myanmar’s realities. He scheduled a further hearing for 6 February.

TPS grants migrants from countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary crises the right to live and work in the US temporarily. Myanmar was designated after the military seized power in a 2021 coup, sparking a nationwide resistance movement and widespread instability.

The Trump administration announced in November that it would end TPS for Myanmar, citing recent elections held under the junta as evidence of progress. Yet those polls have been widely condemned by the United Nations, Western governments and rights groups as a sham. The US State Department’s own human rights report noted “significant human rights issues” in the country.

Rights advocates warned that ending TPS would force vulnerable people back into a nation still gripped by civil war, economic collapse and humanitarian crisis. Since taking office in 2025, President Trump has pursued a hardline immigration agenda, including aggressive deportation drives that have faced repeated legal challenges.

Kennelly’s ruling is the latest in a series of court decisions slowing or halting attempts to strip migrants of legal status. For Myanmar nationals in the US, it offers temporary relief and the chance to continue working legally while the case proceeds.

The administration has yet to respond publicly to the ruling, but the outcome underscores the growing tension between Trump’s immigration policies and the judiciary’s scrutiny of their legal foundations.

-2026-01-26

Our heartless president seems to have no issues whatsoever sending people back to nations where they will be persecuted and likely jailed or murdered. He's a pathological super freak that completely lacks sympathy, compassion, honor, dignity, grace, and willingness to protect those that are in need of protection.

Trump continues to fail when leadership is called for, and he continues to act like a rabid soi dog on a daily basis. His parents utterly and completely failed to raise a man of decency.

5 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Our heartless president seems to have no issues whatsoever sending people back to nations where they will be persecuted and likely jailed or murdered. He's a pathological super freak that completely lacks sympathy, compassion, honor, dignity, grace, and willingness to protect those that are in need of protection.

Trump continues to fail when leadership is called for, and he continues to act like a rabid soi dog on a daily basis. His parents utterly and completely failed to raise a man of decency.

Adult ADHD + imcipient dementia?