Background
The federal government appealed a preliminary injunction entered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in litigation brought by the National TPS Alliance and individual plaintiffs.
On October 5, 2026, the Supreme Court granted certiorari, vacated the Ninth Circuit’s prior decision in National TPS Alliance v. Noem, and remanded the case for further consideration in light of Mullin v. Doe. That same day, the government moved to stay the district court’s preliminary injunction pending appeal, requesting a stay that would take effect when the Supreme Court’s existing stay expired upon issuance of its mandate on November 6, 2026. The government also requested an administrative stay of at least 21 days if the court denied its principal request.
The Court’s Holding
The Ninth Circuit denied the government’s motion to stay the district court’s preliminary injunction pending appeal. The published order did not provide substantive reasoning or resolve the merits of the underlying appeal.
The court also denied the government’s alternative request for an administrative stay of at least 21 days. It stated that an expedited merits-briefing schedule would be established by a separate order.
Key Takeaways
- The district court’s preliminary injunction was not stayed by the Ninth Circuit pending appeal.
- The panel also refused to grant the government a temporary administrative stay.
- The merits remained unresolved, with expedited briefing to follow under a separate order.
Why It Matters
The order prevents the government from obtaining continued stay relief from the Ninth Circuit when the Supreme Court’s existing stay expires. Its immediate significance is procedural: the preliminary injunction remains operative absent other relief, while the appeal proceeds on an expedited schedule.
Because the order contains no merits analysis, it should not be read as deciding how the Supreme Court’s remand or Mullin v. Doe ultimately affects the underlying dispute.