Federal Judge Blocks Trump Admin’s Move to End Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan Migrants
A federal judge issued a temporary injunction Monday against the Trump administration’s efforts to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 350,000 Venezuelans living in the US.
US District Judge Edward Chen from San Francisco determined that ending TPS would “inflict irreparable harm” on those affected and ordered a temporary halt just one week before the protections were set to expire on April 7.
“Court finds that the Secretary’s action threatens to: inflict irreparable harm on hundreds of thousands of persons whose lives, families, and livelihoods will be severely disrupted, cost the United States billions in economic activity, and injure public health and safety in communities throughout the United States,” Chen wrote in his ruling.
“At the same time, the government has failed to identify any real countervailing harm in continuing TPS for Venezuelan beneficiaries,” he added. “Plaintiffs have also shown they will likely succeed in demonstrating that the actions taken by the Secretary are unauthorized by law, arbitrary and capricious, and motivated by unconstitutional animus. For these reasons, the Court grants Plaintiffs’ request to postpone the challenged actions pending final adjudication of the merits of this case.”
Chen’s order applies nationwide and gives the government one week to file an appeal. The lawsuit was brought by a group of Venezuelan TPS holders and the National TPS Alliance, a left-wing activist organization.
President Donald Trump ordered a review of TPS designations upon taking office, aiming to ensure they were not being misused. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem subsequently revoked the Biden administration’s 2023 decision to extend TPS for Venezuelans, citing national security concerns and claiming that members of the violent Tren de Aragua criminal gang were among the recipients.
President Joe Biden had initially granted TPS to Venezuelans in 2021, and the program had been extended until September 2025. An estimated 600,000 Venezuelans are currently covered under TPS, according to a report by The Daily Caller.
