Supreme Court allows temporary protected status to be revoked from 350,000 Venezuelan migrants

By 
 May 20, 2025

In February, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sought to begin the process of removing roughly 350,000 Venezuelan migrants from the United States.

Although a federal judge had initially blocked that attempt, the Supreme Court is now allowing it to go ahead. 

Biden administration extended TPS to 850,00 migrants

The case concerns Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a legal provision under which citizens of a particular nation are allowed to remain in the U.S. due to conditions "that temporarily prevent the country's nationals from returning safely."

As Breitbart reported, then Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas extended TPS for approximately 850,000 people just two weeks before President Joe Biden left office.

The recipients included 234,000 Salvadorans and 600,000 Venezuelans, with both groups being issued work permits that are valid until March 9, 2026.

According to CBS News, Noem is seeking to revoke TPS for Venezuelans who were first granted the status in 2023 while others who received protection in 2021 will continue to enjoy protection from deportation until September.

District judge highlighted economic contributions of migrants

As Breitbart noted, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen issued an injunction in March which stressed that the Venezuelan TPS recipients have "higher educational attainment than most U.S. citizens" as well as "high labor participation rates."

What's more, the Obama appointed pointed out that they "annually contribute billions of dollars to the U.S. economy and pay hundreds of millions, if not billions, in Social Security taxes."

However, America's highest judicial body overturned Chen's injunction in an eight to one ruling which was released on Monday.

"The application for stay presented to Justice Kagan and by her referred to the Court is granted," the ruling was quoted as saying.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson offers lone dissent

"The March 31, 2025 order entered by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, case No. 3:25-cv-1766, is stayed pending the disposition of the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, if such a writ is timely sought," it continued.

"Should certiorari be denied, this stay shall terminate automatically. In the event certiorari is granted, the stay shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of this Court," the ruling went on to add.

Breitbart observed that Monday's decision was nearly unanimous, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson providing the lone dissent.

" A free people [claim] their rights, as derived from the laws of nature."
Thomas Jefferson