Trump administration again asks US Supreme Court to end protections for Venezuelans
The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 9, 2024. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration Friday made an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to pause a district court’s order that blocked the Department of Homeland Security from ending temporary protections for roughly 350,000 Venezuelans.
In an emergency brief, U.S. Solicitor D. John Sauer argued that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has the authority to revoke extended protections initially granted to Venezuelans under the Biden administration.
Those protections extended Temporary Protected Status to one group of Venezuelans who came to the U.S. in 2023 and another who came in 2021.
“The new order again displaces the Secretary’s judgment on a matter committed to her unreviewable discretion by law, again impedes important immigration enforcement policies, and again ties up the Secretary’s actions in protracted litigation that will effectively nullify them absent relief from this Court,” Sauer wrote.
Former President Joe Biden granted TPS holders from Venezuela protections until October 2026. TPS is granted when a national’s home country is deemed too dangerous to return to due to violence, political instability or extreme natural disasters.
The Trump administration has moved to end TPS status for several groups, including Venezuelans. The status protects immigrants from deportation and grants work permits.
This is the second time in this legal battle the Trump administration is appealing to the high court to let it end protections for Venezuelans. In May, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to temporarily terminate TPS for 350,000 Venezuelans but the case continued in lower courts.
