The Supreme Court had earlier allowed the government to end a policy that allows 350,000 Venezuelans to live and work in the United States.
The federal government cannot invalidate immigration documents that allow roughly 5,000 Venezuelan nationals living in the United States to remain in the country until October 2026, a federal court in California ruled on Friday.
In February, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem terminated Venezuela’s 2023 designation for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a temporary immigration status granted when foreign nationals cannot return to their home countries due to safety concerns, such as ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or epidemics.
A TPS designation protects individuals from deportation and allows them to apply for authorization to work in the United States.
The National TPS Alliance, representing TPS holders from across the United States, sued the government, with a federal judge in California issuing an injunction in March blocking the termination of TPS for Venezuelans. On May 19, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the injunction order, affirming Noem’s decision.
Plaintiffs then approached the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, asking for relief, specifically seeking that certain Venezuelans be allowed TPS protections, resulting in the May 30 court order ruling in favor of the plaintiffs.
The court observed that on Jan. 17, the Biden administration had extended the TPS designation for Venezuela from April 2 this year to Oct. 2, 2026. On Feb. 3, Noem vacated the extension. She then terminated Venezuela’s 2023 TPS extension on Feb. 5. The termination came into effect on April 7.
The plaintiffs asked the court to recognize the validity of TPS documentation issued following the Jan. 17 extension and maintain the rights of Venezuelans who received TPS documents that are valid until Oct. 2, 2026. They argued Noem exceeded her statutory authority when she canceled TPS documents on Feb. 3 even though the documents were valid until October next year.
“Plaintiffs’ position is meritorious,” the court said. “Nothing in the TPS statute allows the Secretary to take such action.”
