SAN FRANCISCO (BN24) – A federal appeals court on Friday blocked the Trump administration from ending legal protections for about 600,000 Venezuelans who have been permitted to live and work in the United States under the temporary protected status program.
The ruling from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California upheld a lower court decision that preserved the program while legal challenges continued. The judges found that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in arguing that the administration had no authority to overturn a prior extension of protections, since the statute governing temporary protected status does not permit such revocation.
“In enacting the TPS statute, Congress designed a system of temporary status that was predictable, dependable, and insulated from electoral politics,” the panel wrote.
The ruling adds another chapter to the legal battle that has left hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in limbo. Approximately 350,000 saw their protections expire in April, while another 250,000 face expiration on Sept. 10. It remains unclear how Friday’s decision will affect those groups, as the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of San Francisco had earlier ruled that plaintiffs were likely to prevail in their claim that the Trump administration both exceeded its authority and acted with racial animus in attempting to terminate protections. Chen ordered a freeze on the terminations in March, but the Supreme Court later overturned his injunction without explanation, a common outcome in emergency appeals.
The temporary protected status program, created under the Immigration Act of 1990, allows the secretary of Homeland Security to grant legal status to migrants from countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters or other “extraordinary and temporary conditions” that make safe return impossible.
In defending the decision to end protections, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said conditions in Venezuela, as well as in Haiti, had improved and that it was no longer in the national interest to continue what she described as a temporary measure.
But Venezuela remains engulfed in a deep humanitarian crisis. Millions have fled the country amid political turmoil, economic collapse, rampant hunger, and years of hyperinflation and corruption. Critics argue that ending protections now would expose Venezuelans in the United States to grave risks if forced to return.
The appeals court’s ruling keeps the status quo for now, while setting up another likely battle before the Supreme Court as the Trump administration pushes to dismantle one of the central humanitarian relief programs in U.S. immigration policy.
