SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — A federal appeals court has delivered a major blow to the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, blocking its attempt to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 600,000 Venezuelan citizens. The ruling, issued by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, prevents the immediate deportation of these individuals and affirms a lower court’s finding that the administration overstepped its legal authority.
The Legal Challenge to TPS
Temporary Protected Status is a humanitarian program established by Congress in 1990. It allows the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to grant temporary legal status to foreign nationals whose home countries are experiencing civil conflict, natural disasters, or other “extraordinary and temporary conditions” that make it unsafe for them to return. The status provides work authorization and protection from deportation.
The Trump administration had sought to terminate the TPS designation for Venezuelans, a move that would have left hundreds of thousands of people who have been living and working in the United States for years vulnerable to deportation. The administration’s argument, led by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, was that the original conditions that justified the TPS designation had changed and that it was no longer in the U.S. national interest to keep the program in place.
However, the appeals court panel ruled that the administration lacked the legal authority to terminate the protections in the manner it attempted. The court affirmed a lower court’s decision, finding that the plaintiffs—a coalition of immigration advocacy groups and affected individuals—were likely to succeed on their claim that the DHS secretary had no power to vacate or set aside a prior extension of TPS.
“In enacting the TPS statute, Congress designed a system of temporary status that was predictable, dependable, and insulated from electoral politics,” wrote Judge Kim Wardlaw, in the majority opinion. “The statute does not permit the Secretary to arbitrarily terminate a prior extension of TPS.”
The ruling is a significant victory for immigration advocates who have long argued that the administration’s actions were motivated by a political agenda rather than by the conditions in Venezuela.
A Temporary Reprieve
While the appeals court decision is a major win for the plaintiffs, it does not immediately reinstate the expired protections for all affected Venezuelans. The ongoing legal battle has been complicated by a separate Supreme Court emergency order issued in May that has stayed the lower court’s ruling pending the full appeals process.
The legal complexity means that the TPS status remains expired for many of the affected individuals, though their attorneys hope the appeals court ruling will provide a clear path forward for the protections to be fully reinstated. For more information on the Temporary Protected Status program, visit the official website for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The ruling is a part of a larger legal trend, with several courts pushing back on the administration’s efforts to terminate TPS for a number of countries. The judiciary is becoming a key check on the administration’s hardline immigration policies, forcing the government to defend its actions against the legal framework established by Congress.
The future of the approximately 600,000 Venezuelans now hangs in the balance, as the case is likely to continue its path through the court system. Their fate will ultimately be decided by the highest courts in the land, as this case puts a spotlight on the separation of powers between the executive and judicial branches and the limits of the administration’s authority on immigration policy.