On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court granted President Donald Trump administration’s request to lift Temporary Protected Status for approximately 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants living in the United States, potentially exposing them to deportation.
TPS is a humanitarian programme created by Congress in 1990 to protect immigrants from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions, allowing them to live and work legally in the U.S. temporarily.
Venezuelans were granted TPS under then-President Joe Biden’s administration due to the ongoing political and economic crisis in Venezuela.
In February 2025, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, under the Trump administration, announced the termination of TPS for Venezuelans, reversing the protections extended by the prior administration.
This decision affected roughly 350,000 individuals, with protections originally set to expire in April 2025.
Shortly before the scheduled expiration, a federal judge in San Francisco, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen, blocked the administration’s plan to end TPS, citing that terminating protections would cause “irreparable harm” to the immigrants and their families, disrupt their livelihoods, and result in significant economic losses for the U.S.
The judge also found evidence suggesting that the termination decision was “unauthorised by law, arbitrary and capricious, and motivated by unconstitutional animus,” highlighting concerns over racial discrimination in the administration’s characterisation of Venezuelan immigrants.
The plaintiffs, including the National TPS Alliance and several Venezuelan TPS holders, argued that Venezuela remains unsafe for return and that ending TPS would impose severe hardship.
The Supreme Court’s brief, unsigned order allowed the Trump administration to proceed with ending TPS for Venezuelans while the legal appeal continues. The court did not provide a detailed explanation or disclose the vote count, though Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson expressed opposition to the decision.
The ruling effectively suspends the lower court’s injunction, enabling the government to move forward with revoking work permits and deportation protections. However, individual immigrants retain the right to challenge their removal or loss of work authorisation in court.
