The Supreme Court, in a decisive move, has cleared the way for the Trump administration to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans residing in the United States. In an unsigned order, the justices temporarily halted a lower court ruling that had been blocking the administration’s efforts to end the protection as requested by Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security.
This order leaves room for individual Venezuelans to contest the termination of their work permits or their removal from the United States. Notably, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, suggesting she would have maintained the lower court’s ruling during ongoing litigation.
The TPS program, established in 1990, permits the DHS Secretary to grant temporary protection to nationals of countries grappling with natural disasters, armed conflicts, or other “extraordinary and temporary conditions.” Venezuela was given such a designation in 2021 by Alejandro Mayorkas, then the DHS Secretary.
The recent Supreme Court action arose from a dispute following Secretary Noem’s announcement to end TPS designation for Venezuelan nationals, affecting over 300,000 individuals. Plaintiffs had sought federal court intervention, resulting in U.S. District Judge Edward Chen’s temporary injunction against this termination. Judge Chen criticized Noem’s actions as “unprecedented” and claimed she acted on “negative stereotypes” of Venezuelan migrants.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit’s refusal to stay Chen’s order led the Trump administration to seek Supreme Court intervention. U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that the TPS designation falls within the sensitive purview of the executive branch’s discretionary immigration policy decisions, a domain traditionally insulated from judicial review.
Venezuelan TPS beneficiaries pleaded for the continuation of Chen’s order, asserting that reversing it would result in severe losses, including employment and the risk of deportation to conditions deemed unsafe. They argued there was no compelling harm to the government to justify lifting the injunction while the 9th Circuit expedited the case, setting arguments for July.
The Supreme Court’s order holds Chen’s ruling in abeyance, allowing the government’s appeal to proceed in the 9th Circuit, and potentially, higher judicial scrutiny may continue. Additionally, the justices are evaluating another emergency appeal related to the Trump administration’s initiative to retract parole granted on humanitarian and public interest grounds to noncitizens from various nations, including Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua.
For further details, please refer to the full article on SCOTUSblog.