Obama Judge Blocks Trump TPS Termination for Somalia, Sparks Iowa Legal Backlash

A federal judge appointed by former President Barack Obama has once again blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalia, drawing sharp criticism from Iowa’s top legal official and reigniting debate over judicial overreach.

Judge Allison Burroughs issued an administrative stay Friday, preventing the Department of Homeland Security from revoking Somalia’s TPS designation. The move came just days after a federal appeals court reversed similar stays for Ethiopia and South Sudan, citing the Supreme Court’s June ruling in Mullin that limits lower courts’ power to block TPS terminations.

Why This Matters for Iowa

Iowa is home to one of the largest Somali communities in the United States, concentrated in cities like Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and Waterloo. Many Somali Iowans hold TPS status, which allows them to live and work legally in the U.S. while their home country remains unsafe. Any change to TPS policy directly affects Iowa’s workforce, schools, and communities.

Iowa Solicitor General Eric Wessan, the state’s top appellate lawyer, publicly criticized Burroughs’ order, calling it a legal maneuver that “turns the law upside down.”

“The district judge has entered a novel ‘administrative stay’ to sort out the claims. She has declared the TPS termination ‘void’ for now, while deciding whether any of the claims can justify a more permanent pause,” Wessan wrote on X.

Wessan argued that four of the five claims in the lawsuit are barred by the Supreme Court’s Mullin decision and described the remaining claim as “frivolous.”

“Even if this was a fresh lawsuit without the baggage, the claims cannot justify any relief—much less meet the high bar for interim relief. This is very bad. I hope that, with time to review, Judge Burroughs vacates her administrative stay to allow the correct status quo to continue,” Wessan added.

What the Lawsuit Alleges

Plaintiffs, including the group African Communities Together, filed an amended complaint Thursday arguing that the Trump administration violated the Fifth Amendment by terminating Somalia’s TPS designation based on racial and national-origin discrimination. They point to a November 2025 Truth Social post in which President Trump announced the end of TPS months before DHS completed its required review process.

The lawsuit claims that pre-declared decision deprived Somali TPS holders of due process under the Fifth Amendment. It also alleges equal protection violations, citing Trump’s past remarks describing immigrants from certain countries as “criminals,” “gang members,” and “low IQ,” while expressing preferences for white immigrants.

General Counsel James Percival, a Trump administration official, accused Burroughs of “defiance, obstruction, and delay.”

“Judge Allison Burroughs just entered yet another order preventing the termination of Somalia TPS. There is no serious debate about what is going on in these—defiance, obstruction, and delay,” Percival wrote on X.

Legal Battle Heats Up

Burroughs’ order comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reversed similar administrative stays issued by other district judges in TPS cases for Ethiopia and South Sudan. The First Circuit based its rulings on the Supreme Court’s Mullin decision, which held that lower courts generally cannot block TPS terminations based on non-constitutional claims.

The plaintiffs argue their amended complaint is fundamentally different because it raises constitutional claims under the Fifth Amendment, which the Supreme Court did not address in Mullin.

Burroughs has presided over the Somalia TPS litigation since March, when she first issued an administrative stay preventing the termination from taking effect.

What’s Next?

The Trump administration is expected to appeal Burroughs’ order, potentially setting up another legal showdown in the First Circuit or even the Supreme Court. For Iowa’s Somali community, the uncertainty continues.

Iowa officials, including Governor Kim Reynolds, have previously supported legal immigration but opposed what they see as executive overreach in immigration policy. The case highlights ongoing tensions between federal judicial power and executive authority, a key issue for conservative Iowans who favor limited government and strict adherence to the rule of law.

Fox News Digital reached out to African Communities Together for comment but did not receive a response by press time.