An appellate court in the US has given the Trump administration the green light to end temporary protections for immigrants from Cameroon and Afghanistan despite legal challenges from immigration advocacy groups.

Temporary protected status, or TPS, allows people to stay and work in the US if their home countries are deemed unsafe due to natural disasters or war. 

The government argued that the TPS program is intended to be temporary, and Cameroon and Afghanistan are now safe enough for people to return. 

Around 11,700 Afghans and 5,200 Cameroonians are enrolled in TPS out of which 3,600 Afghans and 200 Cameroonians have green cards and as such would not be affected. While those who lose their TPS protections can apply for asylum or some other form of legal status or at risk of deportation. 

An immigration advocacy group CASA had secured a reprieve initially before the government appeal which has now given it the green light to suspend the temporary protection status. The court said “there is insufficient evidence to warrant the extraordinary remedy” of blocking the government from phasing out TPS while the lawsuit works its way through the courts.

CASA also argues the administration hasn’t followed the correct legal processes to end TPS, and contends the decision was “preordained” and based partly on “racial animus.”

Earlier this month, a lower court judge denied DHS’s request to dismiss CASA’s lawsuit but also denied CASA’s motion to halt the administration’s policy. CASA appealed, causing it to reach the 4th Circuit.