Federal judge postpones effort to end TPS for 600K Venezuelans

A federal judge rules to postpone the Trump administration's effort to strip 600,000 Venezuelans of temporary protected status

Days after being sworn in, Homeland Security Secretary, Christy Noem, announced DHS was terminating TPS for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who were granted the status under the previous Biden administration

TPS is a U.S. immigration program that grants immigrants the right to live and work in the United States if their designated

home country is experiencing conflicts such as natural disasters or warfare. TPS protects immigrants

with the status from deportation. Noam announced in February that Venezuela no longer meets the

TPS designated conditions. A notice by the Citizenship and Immigration Services states, in particular

the Secretary has determined it is contrary to the national interests to permit the covered

Venezuelan nationals to remain temporarily in the United States. The National TPS Alliance, an organization that represents TPS holders from across the country

challenged Nome's termination of the TPS program for Venezuelans, which was set to expire April 7, 2025

The National TPS Alliance argued, Nome's termination of TPS was unlawful and motivated in part by racial animus

In his 78 ruling U District Court judge Ed Chen said stripping the Venezuelans with TPS would subject them to possible imminent deportation back to Venezuela a country so rife with economic and political upheaval and

danger that the State Department has categorized Venezuela as a level four do not travel country

adding, the 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. Advocates with the National TPS Alliance responded

to the judge's ruling. Judge Chen's decision today recognizes the critical role of TPS, protecting

people who cannot safely return to their home countries. This humanitarian protection cannot be

stripped away from hundreds of thousands of people for illegitimate pretextual reasons

Emmy McLean, an attorney with the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, said in a statement

The government has a week to appeal the ruling. Similar lawsuits regarding Haiti's TPS designation are also making their way through the court system

According to U.S. citizenship and immigration services, there are currently 17 countries designated for TPS

For straight-airn news, I'm Warren Taylor. For more on this story, download the Strait Arrow News app or visit SAN.com