Supreme Court allows Trump to end TPS for Venezuelans amid legal fight

Supreme Court allows Trump to end TPS for Venezuelans amid legal fight

350,000 migrants face uncertainty as justices lift legal hold on cancellation

The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to proceed — at least temporarily — with the cancellation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nearly 350,000 Venezuelan migrants, as a legal battle over the decision continues in lower courts.

The justices issued a short, unsigned order granting the administration’s emergency request to lift a lower court injunction. The ruling clears the way for tens of thousands of Venezuelans to lose protected status, though some safeguards remain in place until September 2025. Only Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, noting she would have kept TPS protections in place during litigation.

As is typical for emergency rulings, the court offered no explanation for its decision.

Immigrant advocates warn of humanitarian fallout

Immigration groups immediately criticized the ruling, calling it unprecedented in scope and impact.

“This is the largest single action stripping any group of noncitizens of immigration status in modern U.S. history,” said Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA.

He warned that the humanitarian and economic impact would be immediate, affecting families, workers, and entire communities. Individual migrants can still challenge deportation orders, but the protections granted under TPS are no longer guaranteed.

Related: Trump halts funding to build more electric vehicle chargers nationwide

Biden-era protections reversed under new DHS leadership

TPS for Venezuelans was originally granted by the Biden administration, citing dire humanitarian and political conditions in Venezuela under President Nicolás Maduro. However, the new Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi L. Noem, appointed by Trump, rescinded an extension of TPS in February 2025 — just weeks before it was due to take effect.

Noem argued that the protections were being abused and placed strain on U.S. resources. She cited concerns over public safety and falsely claimed that some migrants were affiliated with the Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang.

The National TPS Alliance and seven Venezuelan migrants sued, alleging procedural violations and discriminatory intent. A federal judge in California agreed and blocked the cancellation, ruling that the action was likely unconstitutional and motivated by racial and national origin bias.

That ruling was upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, but now overturned by the high court — at least temporarily.

Legal and political implications grow

The Trump administration, in its Supreme Court filings, claimed the extension of TPS would harm national security, strain police departments, and push city shelters past capacity.

“These communities are at a breaking point,” the government said in its appeal.

The case is one of 18 Trump-era emergency appeals before the court, and one of eight related to immigration. Earlier this month, the administration filed a broader request to deport more than 530,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, who have been allowed to remain under parole and TPS protections.

That request is still under review by the Supreme Court.

The petitioners argue that Venezuela remains unsafe and that the government’s claims are rooted in “false, negative stereotypes” — including the widely debunked rumor that Venezuela released criminals to send them to the U.S.

Policy crossroads ahead

The ruling raises new tensions within U.S. immigration policy as the 2025 presidential election season heats up. With Trump vowing to reverse multiple Biden-era protections and aggressively scale back immigration programs, civil rights groups are preparing for more legal battles ahead.

“Stripping TPS without cause won’t just destabilize families — it will destabilize cities, healthcare systems, and workforces,” said one advocate.

While the administration insists it is acting to restore immigration order, critics say it is pursuing politically motivated purges of long-established migrant communities.

As the Supreme Court continues to weigh the broader implications of TPS cancellations, the lives of hundreds of thousands of immigrants once again hang in limbo.

Stay tuned to The Horizons Times for developments in immigration law, Supreme Court rulings, and U.S. asylum policy.