A federal judge on Monday issued a temporary injunction against the Trump administration and its decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 350,000 Venezuelans living in the United States.
U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of San Francisco ordered a temporary halt to the Trump administration’s effort to terminate temporary legal protections for 350,000 Venezuelans, one week before these protections were due to end April 7, according to a court filing. In his ruling, Chen said TPS has broad implications for the nation. He also said that terminating these protections could harm the U.S. economy.
“Court finds that the Secretary’s action threatens to: inflict irreparable harm on hundreds of
thousands of persons whose lives, families, and livelihoods will be severely disrupted, cost the
United States billions in economic activity, and injure public health and safety in communities
throughout the United States,” Chen wrote.
“At the same time, the government has failed to identify any real countervailing harm in continuing TPS for Venezuelan beneficiaries. Plaintiffs have also shown they will likely succeed in demonstrating that the actions taken by the Secretary are unauthorized by law, arbitrary and capricious, and motivated by unconstitutional animus. For these reasons, the Court grants Plaintiffs’ request to postpone the challenged actions pending final adjudication of the merits of this case.”
Chen’s injunction means that those Venezuelans may work in the United States and are protected from deportation, as long as attorneys continue to litigate the case.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem defended her decision to terminate Venezuela’s TPS designation in February, citing national security concerns and saying that members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang were among the Venezuelan TPS recipients. She argued that the termination was part of the Trump administration’s broader crackdown on illegal immigration. TPS, she said, had exacerbated the border crisis. Improved conditions in Venezuela, including lower crime rates, better healthcare, and a better economy, Noem argued, allowed for a safe return.
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Earlier in March, Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 17 state attorneys general launched a legal challenge against the Trump administration’s move to terminate TPS for Venezuelans. The group submitted an amicus brief in federal court, arguing against the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to end the protections, which were extended to Venezuelan nationals by Congress in 2021.
The amicus brief states that over 600,000 Venezuelans in the U.S. hold TPS. Attorneys general said terminating TPS would lead to irreparable harm by revoking their legal work rights and exposing them to deportation.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
