US judge blocks Trump’s bid to revoke work permits from immigrants | Court Affairs

The law prevents thousands of people from El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine from losing their work permits while the cases are pending.

A federal judge in the United States has temporarily blocked the administration of US President Donald Trump from revoking the work permits of thousands of asylum seekers and immigrants. Temporary Protected Status (TPS)canceling the plan that was set to go into effect on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, US District Judge Nathaniel Gorton joined immigrant rights groups and labor unions in protesting the new US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policies that impose restrictions on immigration passed by Congress last year.

In a five-page document, he wrote, “The consequences that critics face are dire.” The order will remain in place while they consider whether to issue a longer-term ban, a decision expected on August 5.

The lawsuit, which was filed earlier this month by a coalition of organizations represented by the legal group Democracy Forward, has challenged recent USCIS policy changes. These include a new law allowing the agency to deny pending refugee applications and revoke work permits if applicants do not pay a new annual refugee fee, as well as its decision to repeal a decades-old rule requiring initial work permits to be processed within 30 days. The lawsuit said USCIS made these changes without public input, as required by law.

It also opposed the retroactive application of the new rules to people from El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine, who are still protected by TPS, which allows people from countries affected by war, natural disasters or other serious problems to live and work legally in the US until it is deemed safe to return home.

“This resolution protects thousands of asylum seekers and TPS holders from immediate and irreversible harm as this case moves forward,” said Democracy Forward President Skye Perryman in a statement. “Without this relief, families who have followed this law and depended on social security for a long time lost their job opportunities and were able to fend for themselves through no fault of their own.”

The decision means thousands of TPS holders from El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine will be able to work as the legal crisis progresses.

Although the judge did not prevent the collection of fines on Tuesday, he temporarily suspended the consequences of non-payment, including the denial of an individual’s application or the revocation of a work permit.

The controversy was introduced as part of Trump’s signature tax law, the so-called. One Very Beautiful Billpassed by the Republican-controlled Congress in July 2025.

The Trump administration has made ending TPS protections a central part of its immigration agenda, moving to remove the status from more than a dozen countries. Last month, the US Supreme Court allowed the administration to do so the last defense for thousands from Haiti and Syria.

USCIS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.