U.S. Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration to End Deportation Protections for Venezuelans

 

U.S. Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration to End Deportation Protections for Venezuelans

The U.S. Supreme Court has permitted the Trump administration to cease implementing temporary protected status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans living in the United States. This decision effectively ends the safeguards that had been in place since the Biden administration extended them in 2023.

The court granted the Justice Department's request to lift a previous judge’s order that had temporarily prevented the termination of TPS for Venezuelans, while the case remains under appeal. The order was unsigned, as is typical in emergency rulings.

The court’s brief ruling leaves open the possibility for challenges from migrants if the government proceeds to cancel work permits or other TPS-related documents, which are set to expire in October 2026. According to the Department of Homeland Security, around 348,202 Venezuelans are registered under Biden’s TPS designation.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only member of the court to publicly dissent. The legal challenge was initiated by Venezuelan TPS recipients and the advocacy group National TPS Alliance, who argue that Venezuela remains unsafe, and that rescinding the protections could lead to mass deportations.

The Biden administration, which re-designated Venezuela for TPS twice, had extended these protections until October 2026. However, the Trump-appointed Justice Secretary Kristi Noem rescinded the extension and moved to end the protections, a move challenged in court.

San Francisco federal Judge Edward Chen ruled that the administration's actions violated federal law and were based on negative stereotypes, stating, “Generalization of criminality to the Venezuelan TPS population as a whole is baseless and smacks of racism...”

The case highlights ongoing tensions in U.S. immigration policy amid rising deportation efforts, with affected migrants expressing fear and uncertainty about their futures. Many have left Venezuela due to economic hardship and insecurity, and now face possible deportation back to an unsafe environment.