U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy of the District of Massachusetts issued an administrative stay in African Communities Together v. Mullin, temporarily blocking the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ethiopian nationals. This ruling directly challenges a June Supreme Court decision that narrowed lower court authority over immigration directives.
Here is the kicker.
The Bottom Line
- The Ruling: U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy paused the termination of TPS for approximately 26,700 Ethiopian nationals.
- The Conflict: The Department of Homeland Security accused the judge of “mutiny” following a May 2025 incident where a previous Murphy order forced ICE planes to land in Djibouti.
- The Legal Stakes: Plaintiffs shifted their strategy to constitutional claims to bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling in Mullin v. Doe, which restricted Administrative Procedure Act challenges.
When the Supreme Court handed down its 6-3 decision in Mullin v. Doe on June 25, legal experts assumed it would effectively clip the wings of district judges attempting to halt Department of Homeland Security immigration policies. But reality is proving far more stubborn than legal theory. Plaintiffs quickly amended their complaints to lean into constitutional arguments, giving sympathetic judges an opening to preserve the status quo.
According to Department of Homeland Security General Counsel James Percival, writing on X, the latest order amounts to “mutiny” against the Supreme Court. Percival quickly revived memories of a tense May 2025 standoff where Murphy halted a deportation flight to South Sudan, stranding ICE officers at a U.S. military base in Djibouti amid malaria exposure and regional rocket threats.
| Case / Action | Presiding Judge | Impacted Group | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| African Communities Together v. Mullin | U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy | Ethiopian Nationals (~26,700) | Administrative stay issued |
| South Sudan TPS Challenge | Senior U.S. District Judge Patti Saris | South Sudanese Nationals | Administrative stay issued |
| Mullin v. Doe (Supreme Court) | Supreme Court Justices (6-3 Decision) | General TPS Designations | Narrowed lower court APA authority on June 25 |
The timing of Murphy’s order is particularly stark. It arrived just hours after Senior U.S. District Judge Patti Saris—also sitting in the District of Massachusetts—issued her own administrative stay protecting South Sudanese nationals from similar termination efforts. These tandem rulings have ignited fiery rhetoric from conservative commentators and legal activists who argue that federal district judges are overstepping their constitutional boundaries.
Conservative legal activist Mike Davis, founder of the Article III Project, took to X to declare, “These Democrat operatives in robes do not have the power to do this.” He added, “The Supreme Court just made that crystal clear. So it’s time to ignore these clearly lawless orders.” Political commentator Ann Coulter echoed that sentiment, posting, “These puny little district court judges have been overruled so many times by the supreme court, especially on immigration, I think it’s time for the president to take his constitutional oath seriously, and ignore them.”
The Department of Homeland Security originally set Ethiopia’s TPS expiration for February 13, 2026, following a December 2025 determination by then-Secretary Kristi Noem that conditions in the East African nation no longer warranted temporary protections. That decision overturned the Biden administration’s 2022 designation by then-Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who cited ongoing armed conflict, human rights abuses, and food insecurity.
As the legal battle shifts entirely toward surviving constitutional hurdles, the friction between the federal judiciary and the executive branch shows zero signs of cooling down. Drop a comment below: Do you think lower court judges are protecting constitutional rights, or are they undermining the Supreme Court’s authority?
