A legal battle over the future of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelan nationals is playing out in the U.S. Supreme Court. Attorneys representing these individuals have implored the justices to uphold a decision by a federal judge in San Francisco, which prevents the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, from rescinding their TPS designation. This status offers temporary protection from deportation, allowing them to live and work in the United States under a program designed for foreign nationals from countries experiencing extraordinary conditions, as outlined by federal law.
According to Ahilan Arulanantham, a UCLA law professor and representative of the Venezuelan citizens, reversing Judge Edward Chen’s ruling would significantly alter the current situation. Nearly 350,000 people could face immediate deportation consequences, he stresses, disrupting their ability to live and work in the United States.
The TPS designation for Venezuela was initially granted in 2021 by then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who extended the designation further. In February, Secretary Noem decided to terminate this status for certain Venezuelans, which prompted the plaintiffs to seek a judicial intervention from Judge Chen to halt this termination. On March 31, Judge Chen issued an ruling against Noem’s termination effort, labeling her actions as “unprecedented” and suggesting that the decision was informed by biases against Venezuelan migrants.
Following a refusal by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit to pause Judge Chen’s order, the U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer has reached out to the Supreme Court for intervention. Sauer emphasized that the TPS program involves delicate and discretionary judgments intrinsic to the Executive Branch’s foreign-policy decision-making.
The Venezuelan nationals argue that halting the order would inflict undue harm through job losses and deportations to a country deemed unsafe. They pointed out that the government has not specified, to date, any concrete damages it might suffer before the Ninth Circuit’s scheduled appeal hearing on July 16. Interestingly, the government delayed almost two weeks after the 9th Circuit’s denial to petition the Supreme Court for intervention.
In addition, the group remains confident that they have a strong case, which is a crucial factor for the justices when considering whether to issue temporary relief. Despite the discretion granted to the DHS Secretary under federal immigration law to designate or redesignate countries for TPS, this discretion is limited post-designation as to how the review process should be conducted and what standards should determine extension or termination decisions. Federal law, they highlight, does not authorize recission or nullification of an extension.
On the same day this filing was made, a parallel development unfolded involving a request from the previous administration to the Supreme Court. This separate but related matter involves a federal judge in Massachusetts preventing the revocation of a Biden-era humanitarian parole for over half-a-million noncitizens from multiple countries, including Venezuela. More detailed coverage of this case can be found on SCOTUSblog.