A federal appeals court on Friday halted the Trump administration’s attempt to end legal protections for about 600,000 Venezuelans allowed to live and work in the United States.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court order preserving Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans while the case continues.
The panel said plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their argument that the Department of Homeland Security lacked authority to undo a previous extension of TPS, noting that the statute approved by Congress does not permit such action.
“In enacting the TPS statute, Congress designed a system of temporary status that was predictable, dependable, and insulated from electoral politics,” the ruling said.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
In March, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of San Francisco found that plaintiffs were likely to prevail on claims that the administration exceeded its authority in ending the program and that its actions were motivated by racial bias. Chen froze the terminations, but the Supreme Court later reversed his decision without explanation, a common outcome in emergency appeals.
The impact of Friday’s ruling is unclear. Protections for an estimated 350,000 Venezuelans expired in April, while another 250,000 are set to lose TPS on Sept. 10.
TPS was created by Congress in the Immigration Act of 1990, authorizing the homeland security secretary to provide temporary legal status to people from countries experiencing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary conditions that make returning unsafe.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said conditions in both Haiti and Venezuela had improved, arguing it was no longer in the national interest to allow migrants from those nations to remain under what is intended to be a temporary program.
Venezuela remains in a deep crisis, with millions fleeing political unrest, widespread unemployment, food shortages and years of hyperinflation, corruption, economic mismanagement and ineffective governance.
