Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration to Revoke TPS for 350,000 Venezuelans

The Supreme Court has granted the Trump administration the authority to immediately revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 350,000 Venezuelans residing in the U.S. This decision allows the administration to strip these immigrants of their legal protections, which had previously permitted them to work legally and avoid deportation. The TPS program, administered by the Department of Homeland Security, is designed to provide temporary refuge to immigrants from countries facing humanitarian crises.

The Trump administration had sought to end the TPS protections for Venezuelans, arguing that the program had been overly generous and that the conditions in Venezuela no longer warranted such protections. The Biden administration had previously extended these protections, allowing Venezuelan TPS holders to maintain their legal status through October 2026. However, the Trump administration moved to revoke these extensions, citing concerns about the program's integrity and the safety of American communities.

A federal district judge in San Francisco had previously blocked the Trump administration's attempts to revoke the TPS protections, stating that the actions were legally flawed and appeared to be motivated by negative generalizations about Venezuelan immigrants. However, the Supreme Court's decision to lift this injunction allows the Trump administration to proceed with its plans to end the TPS protections for Venezuelans.

The Supreme Court's order did not provide an explanation for its reasoning, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the decision without explanation. The ruling suggests that the justices may still consider relief for Venezuelans who have already received work permits or other paperwork extending their legal status through October 2026. However, immigrant rights advocates believe that the number of individuals with such documents is small.

The Trump administration's decision to end TPS protections for Venezuelans is part of a broader effort to limit both legal and illegal immigration. While this move may have political implications, particularly in regions with significant Venezuelan communities, it remains to be seen how the administration will proceed with the remaining 250,000 Venezuelans who received TPS status under an earlier designation. The administration has yet to announce whether it will end the program for all Venezuelans in September 2025.