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US Judge Blocks Termination of Temporary Legal Status for Syrians

A Syrian flag is held aloft outside the White House following the meeting of US President Donald Trump and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., US, November 10, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
A Syrian flag is held aloft outside the White House following the meeting of US President Donald Trump and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., US, November 10, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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US Judge Blocks Termination of Temporary Legal Status for Syrians

A Syrian flag is held aloft outside the White House following the meeting of US President Donald Trump and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., US, November 10, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
A Syrian flag is held aloft outside the White House following the meeting of US President Donald Trump and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., US, November 10, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from terminating temporary deportation protections and work permits for more than 6,100 Syrians while a legal challenge proceeds. US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in Manhattan said the abrupt elimination of temporary protected status for Syrians was likely illegal, agreeing with seven Syrian migrants who had sought to block the policy from taking effect on Friday.

Failla said during a virtual court appearance that the US Department of Homeland Security had not followed proper procedures for revoking temporary status, including reviewing conditions in Syria, and that the decision was improperly influenced by politics.

The Trump administration has terminated temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of migrants from several countries in a matter of months, suggesting it is not giving careful consideration in each case as required by federal law, said Failla, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama.

TEMPORARY PROTECTION FIRST EXTENDED TO SYRIANS IN 2012

The Trump administration will likely appeal the decision.

Temporary protected status, or TPS, is a humanitarian designation under US law for migrants from countries stricken by war, natural disaster, or other catastrophes, shielding recipients from deportation and allowing them to work in the United States.

TPS was first extended to Syrian citizens in 2012 during Obama's administration, after the country plunged into a civil war that culminated last year with the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad. The US Supreme Court last month cleared the way for the Trump administration to revoke temporary status for 600,000 Venezuelan migrants. Other judges are considering challenges to the termination of TPS for people from Haiti, Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua.

The administration has said the program has been overused and that many migrants no longer merit protection. Democrats and advocates for the migrants have said that TPS enrollees could be forced to return to dangerous conditions and that US employers depend on their labor.

In announcing the elimination of TPS for Syrians, the Department of Homeland Security said Syria was a hotbed of terrorism and extremism and that it was contrary to US interests to continue the program

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Arab World

Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The atrocities unleashed on El-Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region last October were a "preventable human rights catastrophe", the United Nations said Monday, warning they now risked being repeated in the neighbouring Kordofan region.

"My office sounded the alarm about the risk of mass atrocities in the besieged city of El-Fasher for more than a year ... but our warnings were ignored," UN rights chief Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

He added that he was now "extremely concerned that these violations and abuses may be repeated in the Kordofan region".

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

The General Secretariat of the Arab League strongly condemned decisions by Israeli occupation authorities to impose fundamental changes on the legal and administrative status of the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in the West Bank, describing them as a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of international law, international legitimacy resolutions, and signed agreements, SPA reported.

In a statement, the Arab League said the measures include facilitating the confiscation of private Palestinian property and transferring planning and licensing authorities in the city of Hebron and the area surrounding the Ibrahimi Mosque to occupation authorities.

It warned of the serious repercussions of these actions on the rights of the Palestinian people and on Islamic and Christian holy sites.

The statement reaffirmed the Arab League’s firm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Arab World

UN: 53 Migrants Dead or Missing in Shipwreck Off Libya

(FILES) Migrants sit on board a RHIB (Rigid inflatable boat) after being evacuated by crew members of the “Ocean Viking” rescue ship from the oil tanker the 'Maridive 703' in the search-and-rescue zone of the international waters between Malta and Tunisia, on December 31, 2025. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
(FILES) Migrants sit on board a RHIB (Rigid inflatable boat) after being evacuated by crew members of the “Ocean Viking” rescue ship from the oil tanker the 'Maridive 703' in the search-and-rescue zone of the international waters between Malta and Tunisia, on December 31, 2025. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
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UN: 53 Migrants Dead or Missing in Shipwreck Off Libya

(FILES) Migrants sit on board a RHIB (Rigid inflatable boat) after being evacuated by crew members of the “Ocean Viking” rescue ship from the oil tanker the 'Maridive 703' in the search-and-rescue zone of the international waters between Malta and Tunisia, on December 31, 2025. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
(FILES) Migrants sit on board a RHIB (Rigid inflatable boat) after being evacuated by crew members of the “Ocean Viking” rescue ship from the oil tanker the 'Maridive 703' in the search-and-rescue zone of the international waters between Malta and Tunisia, on December 31, 2025. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

The UN migration agency on Monday said 53 people were dead or missing after a boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the Libyan coast. Only two survivors were rescued.

The International Organization for Migration said the boat overturned north of Zuwara on Friday.

"Only two Nigerian women were rescued during a search-and-rescue operation by Libyan authorities," the IOM said in a statement, adding that one of the survivors said she lost her husband and the other said "she lost her two babies in the tragedy.”

According to AFP, the IOM said its teams provided the two survivors with emergency medical care upon disembarkation.

"According to survivor accounts, the boat -- carrying migrants and refugees of African nationalities departed from Al-Zawiya, Libya, at around 11:00 pm on February 5. Approximately six hours later, it capsized after taking on water," the agency said.

"IOM mourns the loss of life in yet another deadly incident along the Central Mediterranean route."

The Geneva-based agency said trafficking and smuggling networks were exploiting migrants along the route from north Africa to southern Europe, profiting from dangerous crossings in unseaworthy boats while exposing people to "severe abuse.”

It called for stronger international cooperation to tackle the networks, alongside safe and regular migration pathways to reduce risks and save lives.