A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from deporting eight asylum-seekers who say they are escaping dangerous situations in their home countries. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss issued a temporary hold on the deportations while the court waits for more information from the U.S. Justice Department. Another hearing is scheduled for Monday.
Judge Moss is the third judge, along with a panel of judges in Massachusetts and U.S. District Court Judge Loren AliKhan, to refer to a legal opinion from Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Barrett, who was nominated by Trump, said that temporary holds, called “administrative stays,” can be used to pause legal proceedings until a court can make a decision on a request for faster action.
In his ruling, Moss quoted Barrett’s view that these stays can freeze legal processes while the court looks into a case.
“Defendants shall not remove Plaintiffs A.M., Z.A., T.A., A.T., M.A., N.S., B.R., and G.A. during the pendency of the stay,” Moss wrote in his order.
This stay is part of a lawsuit filed by a group of noncitizens who are currently in U.S. custody and face being deported under Trump’s Inauguration Day Proclamation. The proclamation declared an “invasion” by noncitizens at the U.S.-Mexico border and banned people from applying for asylum in the U.S.
The lawsuit argues that Trump’s proclamation breaks federal laws, which say people with a “credible fear” of violence and persecution in their home countries should be allowed to apply for asylum.
Among the plaintiffs are a family who fled Afghanistan, fearing retaliation from the Taliban because of their political views and support for the U.S. Another plaintiff survived kidnapping, rape, and torture in Ecuador, targeted by a cartel because of her ethnicity. A third man was tortured in Egypt for his pro-democracy beliefs, fearing more torture if sent back.
One of the plaintiffs, who fled Ecuador, may have already been deported before the court issued the stay. Moss noted that at the hearing on February 20, 2025, both the plaintiffs and defendants mentioned that Plaintiff N.S. might have been sent back before the stay was in place. If that is true, the stay will not apply to N.S., but will protect the other plaintiffs.
The woman from Ecuador had fled an abusive partner, a police officer who physically and sexually abused her. She fears he will kill her if she is sent back to Ecuador.
Lee Gelernt, a lawyer with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, which helped file the lawsuit, called Trump’s proclamation “an unprecedented power grab” that puts many lives at risk.
“No president has the authority to unilaterally override the protections Congress has afforded those fleeing danger,” Gelernt said.
Laura St. John, the legal director for the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, another group representing the plaintiffs, also criticized Trump’s proclamation.
“The Florence Project is proud to challenge this unprecedented and illegal overreach, so that our present and future clients who are in need of protection in this country may have an opportunity to seek that relief,” she said.
At the hearing, a Justice Department lawyer, Brian Ward, argued that Moss had no right to stop the deportations. He said federal courts have largely been blocked from interfering with deportation processes under immigration laws. Moss responded by saying, “We are all a little bit in the dark,” suggesting the situation is unclear.
