Supreme Court Lets Donald Trump End Protections for 350,000 Venezuelans
By Dan Gooding and Gabe Whisnant
The Supreme Court on Monday sided with the Trump administration, allowing it to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 350,000 Venezuelans, putting them at risk of deportation.
The decision pauses a lower court ruling from San Francisco that had extended those protections, which would have otherwise expired last month.
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment via email Monday afternoon.
Why It Matters
TPS permits individuals from countries experiencing crises—such as war, civil unrest, or natural disasters—to live and work legally in the U.S. The High Court's order, issued with only one justice dissenting, temporarily lifts that safeguard for Venezuelan nationals while litigation continues.
Justices at Inauguration
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan and Supreme... More Associated Press
What To Know
No opinion was issued by the Supreme Court justices Monday, simply a one-page order on the pending case, stating that the lower court's stay on revoking TPS for Venezuelans was overturned.
Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only justice to say she would deny the government's application for relief.
The move, while stated as temporary pending any further action by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, leaves around 350,000 Venezuelans without legal status, meaning they could be deported.
The U.S. and Venezuela have been at odds over deportation flights, with the South American country agreeing to some repatriations in March. Alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang, which began in Venezuela, have been sent to El Salvador's CECOT prison.
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Immigration advocacy groups have been fighting to keep those in the U.S. on TPS safe from deportation under the Trump administration, arguing that they were granted protections under a legal pathway.
President Donald Trump and his Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem argue that TPS and a similar program called humanitarian parole were abused by the Biden administration, allowing thousands of immigrants to stay longer than necessary.
Last Monday, DHS said it was revoking TPS for Afghans, with Noem saying officials had concluded the situation in the country had improved enough for immigrants to return home.
A similar reasoning was given by Noem when revoking the 2023 TPS designation for Venezuelans in February.
What People Are Saying
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) on its TPS webpage: "DHS has every intention of ending Venezuela TPS under the 2023 designation as soon as it obtains relief from the court order."
What's Next
Venezuelan TPS holders are now vulnerable to deportation while litigation in the case continues. The Trump administration also continues to fight other challenges to its immigration policies in courts across the country.
This article contains reporting by The Associated Press.
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