WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A federal judge in California has temporarily blocked deportations of Hondurans, Nepalese and Nicaraguans whose legal protections have been revoked by the Trump administration.

“The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American dream. That is all Plaintiffs seek,” District Judge Trina Thompson said in a 37-page order on Thursday.

“Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood,” the San Francisco-based judge said. “The Court disagrees.”

The Trump administration revoked Temporary Protected Status (TPS) last month from more than 51,000 Hondurans and 3,000 Nicaraguans who came to the United States (US) after Hurricane “Mitch” devastated the Central American nations in 1998.

Thompson put the TPS terminations of Hondurans, Nepalese and Nicaraguans on hold until she holds a hearing on 18 November on the merits of a lawsuit challenging the move.

In her order, the judge said the termination of TPS was “based on a preordained determination to end the TPS program, rather than an objective review of the country conditions.”

She also said it may be motivated by “racial animus” and referenced a 2024 campaign statement by President Donald Trump who said migrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.”

“Color is neither a poison nor a crime,” Thompson said.

Trump has pledged to carry out the largest deportation campaign in US history and curb immigration, mainly from Latin American nations.

The US grants TPS to foreign citizens who cannot safely return home because of war, natural disasters or other “extraordinary” conditions.

Around 7,000 Nepalese currently have TPS protection following a 2015 earthquake in the Asian nation.