Supreme Court pauses ruling that blocked termination of TPS for Venezuela

Global Immigration alert

On 19 May 2025, the United States Supreme Court granted the Trump administration’s emergency request to pause a lower court’s decision that temporarily halted termination of Venezuela’s designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS). This decision lifts legal protections for thousands of Venezuelan nationals living and working in the United States in TPS and, in the event they do not possess another status or have a basis for lawfully remaining in the country, renders them removable.

Background and analysis

TPS is a humanitarian program created by Congress that allows individuals from designated countries time-limited permission to live and work in the United States. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maintains discretion for designating countries for TPS if they are experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances, that makes the country unsafe for the individual’s return. Further, TPS protects against the threat of deportation, and DHS has discretion to extend TPS if there is credible finding that the country remains unsafe due to ongoing violence or other extraordinary circumstances.

On 3 October 2023, the Biden administration redesignated Venezuela for TPS due to ongoing armed conflict. Roughly 350,000 Venezuelan nationals registered for TPS under the October 2023 designation according to DHS. This designation, set to expire on 2 April 2025, was extended through 2 October 2026, after then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas found the ongoing violence in Venezuela continued to pose unsafe conditions.

After swearing in, current DHS Secretary Kristi Noem determined that Venezuela no longer met the criteria to be designated for TPS. DHS then published a formal notice on 3 February 2025 of its intent to terminate the October 2023 designation of Venezuela for TPS and vacate the extension, effective 7 April 2025.

On 19 February 2025, the National TPS Alliance (NTPSA) and seven impacted Venezuelan nationals brought suit in a Northern California District Court challenging the government’s early termination of Venezuela’s TPS designation citing, among other claims, a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The United States District Court of the Northern District of California granted NTPSA’s request to temporarily halt DHS’s decision to vacate the TPS extension and terminate Venezuela’s 2023 designation for TPS.

In response, DHS filed an emergency request with the Supreme Court of the United States to pause the lower court’s decision. On 19 May 2025, in an unsigned decision and without further explanation, the Supreme Court granted DHS’s request to block the lower court’s decision to halt termination of TPS status for Venezuela pending resolution of the case with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

What this means

Following the Supreme Court’s decision, approximately 350,000 Venezuelans no longer have legal TPS protection. Consequently, these individuals no longer have work authorization and could be placed in removal proceedings by DHS. Venezuelan nationals who currently hold TPS under the 2021 TPS designation remain unaffected by this ruling.