A U.S. federal judge has cleared the way for the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 5,000 Ethiopians living in the United States.

U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston on Tuesday lifted the remaining judicial block on the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to terminate Ethiopia’s TPS designation. The ruling follows a June decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that limited the ability of federal judges to block the administration’s termination of TPS protections for nationals of several countries.

TPS provides eligible migrants from countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions with temporary protection from deportation and authorization to work in the United States.

The Biden administration granted TPS to eligible Ethiopians in 2022, citing armed conflict and humanitarian conditions in the country. In December, the Department of Homeland Security under former Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the designation would be terminated, arguing that conditions in Ethiopia no longer presented a serious threat to people returning to the country.

Judge Murphy had previously blocked the termination in April, ruling that the administration had failed to properly follow statutory procedures and describing its justification as “pretextual.”

Following the Supreme Court’s June ruling, Murphy temporarily maintained the block while considering additional legal challenges, including arguments that DHS did not have the authority to terminate TPS under the 1990 law that created the program.

On Tuesday, however, Murphy rejected that argument, following similar decisions involving TPS holders from South Sudan, Myanmar and Somalia.

The judge did allow one major part of the Ethiopian plaintiffs’ case to continue. They will be able to pursue claims that the administration’s decision was motivated by racial or national-origin discrimination, potentially violating the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment.

African Communities Together, which joined Ethiopian nationals in challenging the termination, criticized the ruling.

“The crisis in Ethiopia is still ongoing,” the organization said, warning that the decision puts thousands of Ethiopians in the United States at risk.

The ruling means the termination of Ethiopia’s TPS designation can now take effect, although the remaining constitutional challenge could continue in court.