Supreme Court pauses ruling blocking end of Venezuelan TPS

The Supreme Court on Friday granted an emergency request from the Trump administration to put on hold a federal judge’s ruling that blocked the termination of Temporary Protected Status for more than 300,000 Venezuelan migrants, allowing the administration to proceed with rescinding those protections while litigation continues. The order, issued without a signed opinion, follows a similar emergency stay the justices granted in May and will remain in place for the duration of the case.

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of the Northern District of California had found that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem lacked lawful authority to end the TPS designation for Venezuelans and that the agency acted with “unprecedented haste” to preordain termination. Chen also criticized statements by Secretary Noem, saying she had generalized alleged crimes by a few migrants to the broader Venezuelan TPS population. The lower-court ruling had kept the designation in effect pending final resolution of the litigation.

Solicitor General John Sauer urged the high court to extend its May stay to the recent ruling, telling the justices that lower courts were disregarding prior emergency orders. In...