9th Circuit blocks end of TPS for about 600,000 Venezuelans

A federal appeals court on Friday blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for about 600,000 Venezuelans living and working in the United States, upholding a lower court order and keeping the humanitarian protections in place while related litigation continues, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said. The panel issued its unanimous decision in California, finding plaintiffs are likely to prevail on the central legal question and therefore warrant an injunction pending final adjudication.

The judges concluded that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem lacked authority to vacate a prior TPS extension because the governing statute enacted by Congress does not permit such unilateral reversal. In the opinion, Judge Kim Wardlaw wrote that Congress designed TPS to be predictable, dependable, and insulated from electoral politics. The panel added that the stability Congress intended has been replaced by fears of family separation, detention, and deportation for those affected.

The ruling revives a clash that began after the Biden administration had extended TPS for Venezuelans through October 2026 and the Trump administration...