Fireworks flew in a California courtroom as a federal judge tore into DHS Secretary Kristi Noem over her explosive push to cancel Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of immigrants. On December 31, Judge Trina Thompson—making headlines shortly after New Year’s—unleashed a scathing rebuke of Noem’s decision to end protections for around 60,000 Honduran, Nepali, and Nicaraguan residents, calling her actions ‘pretextual’ and driven by what she described as likely ‘racial animus.’
Thompson, appointed to the bench by President Joe Biden in 2022, slammed what she saw as a nakedly political maneuver by Noem and the Trump administration. In a dramatic legal takedown, she opened her summary judgment with a bold pronouncement: “Unilateral power has never been American.” The ruling, handed down Wednesday, didn’t stop at Noem. Judge Thompson cited the Supreme Court’s Trump v. United States immunity ruling from 2024, stressing that neither Donald Trump nor his cabinet—including Noem—are above the law.
In her no-holds-barred opinion, Judge Thompson insisted it’s the rule of law—not the megaphone of power—that must prevail. She invoked the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), blasting Noem for violating its standards by pushing through the TPS termination plan without a genuine review of the affected countries’ conditions.
‘Our government cannot play favorites for the powerful while silencing quiet truths,’ she declared, championing the rights of immigrants—many of whom have made America home for years, some even raising children with special needs here. Thompson concluded DHS’s march to ditch TPS was ‘arbitrary and capricious,’ arguing Noem appeared more focused on a preordained outcome than on the legislative requirements.
The judge credited plaintiffs in the class-action suit with providing ‘substantial evidence’ that racially charged motives were at play—a bombshell that could send shockwaves through the administration. Thompson claimed the record shows a ‘genuine dispute’ about whether the TPS reversal was based on negative biases against certain nationalities, and said Noem’s own public comments hovered at the heart of these concerns.
With drama to spare, Thompson delivered a knockout blow: biased statements by Noem and Trump themselves could alone point to discriminatory intent behind the campaign to axe TPS for these communities. The courtroom showdown signals a new chapter in the mounting legal battles over immigration, with civil rights advocates seizing the moment and Noem facing heated scrutiny as 2025 marches on.
