TPS for Venezuelans Temporarily Saved by Federal Ruling

TPS for Venezuelans Temporarily Saved by Federal Ruling \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ A federal judge has paused the Trump administration’s plan to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 350,000 Venezuelans, just days before the protections were set to expire. Judge Edward Chen called the move “arbitrary” and racially motivated. The ruling grants temporary relief, as legal challenges to the policy escalate.

Venezuelan TPS Protections Blocked: Quick Looks

• Judge halts Trump’s plan to end TPS for 350,000 Venezuelans
• Order comes a week before protections were set to expire
• Judge Edward Chen says policy causes “irreparable harm”
• Ruling cites racial animus and lack of legal authority
• DHS under Kristi Noem reversed Biden-era TPS extensions
• Lawsuit brought by National TPS Alliance, ruling applies nationwide
• Court allows time for government to appeal the decision
• Legal teams also preparing to defend protections for 500,000 Haitians
• TPS law shields people from deportation due to unsafe conditions
• Biden expanded TPS; Trump seeks rollback ahead of 2024 elections

Deep Look

In a significant legal rebuke to the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen on Monday temporarily blocked the government’s plan to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for over 350,000 Venezuelans living in the United States. The ruling, issued just a week before the protections were set to expire on April 7, provides crucial, though temporary, relief for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who were bracing for possible deportation.

The case centers around Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision to rescind protections extended under the Biden administration, a reversal that critics argue was not only unlawful but also racially motivated. In his ruling, Judge Chen wrote that the policy change “threatens to inflict irreparable harm on hundreds of thousands of persons whose lives, families, and livelihoods will be severely disrupted,” while also damaging the U.S. economy and public safety.

The protections were originally set in place by former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who extended TPS for Venezuelans, Haitians, and others through 2026. Under Mayorkas’ expansion, Venezuelan nationals could legally live and work in the U.S. due to the ongoing political and humanitarian crisis in their home country.

Noem’s recent decision would have not only ended TPS for 350,000 Venezuelans currently in the program but also halted protections for an estimated 250,000 additional Venezuelans covered under earlier Biden policies. Now, with Judge Chen’s order in place, the administration has one week to file notice of an appeal.

Judge Chen, an Obama appointee, was especially critical of the administration’s legal reasoning. He stated that Noem’s actions were likely “unauthorized by law, arbitrary and capricious, and motivated by unconstitutional animus.” He noted that the government had failed to identify any substantial harm in allowing TPS protections to continue, while evidence of severe harm to recipients was overwhelming.

The court’s order came in response to a lawsuit filed by the National TPS Alliance, which represents individuals and communities protected under the program. Their legal challenge argued that the rollback violated due process rights and was infused with racial bias. During a hearing last week, attorneys claimed that statements made by both Noem and Trump about Venezuelans being criminals reflected clear discriminatory intent.

Judge Chen agreed, citing “derogatory and false comments” made by Trump and Noem about Venezuelan immigrants. “Acting on the basis of a negative group stereotype and generalizing such stereotype to the entire group is the classic example of racism,” Chen wrote in a sharply worded opinion.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling or its next legal steps. However, the court has also invited the plaintiffs to file motions regarding similar protections for nearly 500,000 Haitians whose TPS is set to expire in August.

Pablo Alvarado, co-executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, hailed the ruling as a victory for immigrant communities. “Today is a good day for the migrant community,” he said. “We’re going to fight for everyone because everyone is deserving.”

TPS was created by Congress in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries facing civil unrest or natural disasters. It allows recipients to live and work in the U.S. in renewable 18-month increments, provided the Homeland Security secretary deems it unsafe for them to return home. Historically, the program has protected immigrants from countries like El Salvador, Haiti, Sudan, Syria, and Ukraine.

The ruling comes amid broader tensions over immigration as the 2024 presidential election approaches. Trump has ramped up criticism of immigration policies and federal judges, especially those who have blocked his administration’s actions. On the same day as Judge Chen’s ruling, Trump questioned the impartiality of another federal judge who had recently halted deportations of Venezuelans to El Salvador—a policy also being challenged in court.

At the same time, the Trump administration is also moving to revoke temporary protections for over 530,000 immigrants from countries such as Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who entered the U.S. since October 2022 under a separate humanitarian parole program initiated by President Biden. Those individuals’ two-year work permits are set to expire on April 24, further complicating the landscape for immigrant communities already facing uncertainty.

Lawyers for the government continue to argue that the Homeland Security secretary has broad discretion to terminate TPS designations and that such decisions are not subject to judicial review. But Judge Chen’s order—and his rebuke of the administration’s rationale—suggests courts may be more willing to scrutinize immigration decisions when constitutional rights are at stake.

As the Biden and Trump camps draw sharper contrasts over immigration, the fate of hundreds of thousands of TPS holders hangs in the balance, with further court battles almost certainly ahead.

More on US News